LMPD chief testifies she wasn't wearing body camera at fatal crash scene before video shows otherwise

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel testified under oath Monday that she wasn't wearing a body camera on the scene of a fatal crash in 2021, only to have the attorney for victims of the crash provide photographic proof she was.

Gwinn-Villaroel was called to the stand in the civil trial involving LMPD Officer Ben Sullivan for a 2021 police chase that ended in a fatal crash at the intersection Broadway and Dr. W. J. Hodge Street.

While on the stand, the chief testified that the pursuit, which was against department policy, did not cause the crash that killed 22-year-old Trevon Mitchell.

After allegations that the pursuit may have been racially biased, Gwinn-Villaroel testified that there was no body camera footage from her device because she was not wearing a camera when visiting the scene. But attorneys later showed a snapshot of video from the scene revealing that Gwinn-Villaroel was wearing a body camera.

"If you would've had it on you, you obviously would've turned it on, right?" asked Nick Naiser, the attorney for victims of the crash, asked Gwinn-Villaroel during the trial Monday. "Because you were out there, you were interacting with the public, right?"

"I would've activated it if I had it on," Gwinn-Villaroel replied.

"That's your story?" Naiser asked. "You're sticking with it?"

"That's my statement," Gwinn-Villaroel responded.

"I want to show the jury some transparency," Naiser said while pulling up a photo on the courtroom's projector.

Naiser and his team of attorneys, including Bo Bolus, then showed the courtroom a photo, taken from another officer's body camera footage, of Gwinn-Villaroel at the scene of the fatal crash also wearing a body camera.

"Where's the footage, chief?" Naiser asked. "Did you delete it?"

"I didn't delete anything," she responded.

"How's a jury supposed to believe that if you've said all along you didn't even have it with you?" Naiser asked. "How are we as a community supposed to believe you?"

"Is this the day of the incident?" Gwinn-Villaroel asked seeking clarification.

"7/06/21," said Naiser, confirming the date of the crash. "How are we supposed to believe you?"

Gwinn-Villaroel looked at the photo and back at the attorneys without speaking.

"Thank you for the transparency, chief," Naiser then said. "I don't have any further questions."

"You're so welcome," Gwinn-Villaroel replied.

In earlier testimony on Friday, after the chief said she hadn't been wearing a body camera, she was asked if she would face discipline, as per standard operating procedures.

"Discipline myself?" she said, arguing she did not have her body camera with her.

In a statement, Mayor Craig Greenberg said that after "providing over six hours of testimony on an incident she responded to two and a half years ago as then-Deputy Chief, Chief Gwinn-Villaroel misspoke in response to a gotcha question from a lawyer trying to inflame the jury and drive up their own payday.

"Since taking over LMPD in January, Chief Gwinn-Villaroel has done a remarkable job building trust with the community."

Gwinn-Villaroel released her own statement late Tuesday afternoon, and said the testimony she gave "was to the best of my recollection of the events" and that she "did not recall wearing a body-worn camera that day."

"I misspoke," the statement continued. "The day of the incident, I responded to the scene after the tragic accident occurred and I was wearing my body-worn camera, but it was not activated. I will remain focused on the mission ahead of me of fighting violent crime with my fellow brothers and sisters of LMPD. The citizens have spoken loud and clear that they want correct and constitutional policing and the men and women of LMPD are committed to providing those services."

Tyra Walker-Thomas, co-chair for Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said she was disheartened that the chief didn't activate her body camera. Walker-Thomas said body camera footage is crucial to building trust in the community.

"It's needed so that we can have the evidence. The community wants to see what's going on because they're afraid that there won't be transparency with LMPD and police officers," Walker-Thomas said. "We want authenticity. We want transparency, we want to build that trust with the community, so we have to do what's right."

The trial could wrap up next week.

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