LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Another sexual harassment lawsuit has been filed against Louisville Metro Police. This suit names Maj. Shannon Lauder, the woman at the center of the sexual harassment case that led to the suspension of LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel.

Lauren Carby, a 13-year LMPD veteran, filed the sexual harassment on June 20. She alleges the harassment spanned from 2015 to 2023.

This is the latest lawsuit against LMPD. Lauder filed a sexual harassment lawsuit on June 13 against another officer claiming he harassed and attacked her. On June 18, another LMPD officer filed a harassment claim against two of her supervisors.

In the latest suit, Carby alleges Lauder was “… grossly inappropriate in front of and toward officers under her command in workplace environments, including but not limited to in the SVU office spaces.” The lawsuit alleges Lauder shared sexually explicit details about her marriage to LMPD Lt. Jeff Lauder.

In August 2020, Shannon Lauder was promoted to major and moved to a patrol division within LMPD. Jeff Lauder, then a sergeant, was also promoted. He became a lieutenant and was named commander of LMPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics unit.

On Aug. 1, 2020, the Lauders held a pool party at their house to celebrate their promotions.

Carby’s suit says Jeff Lauder began making unwanted advances toward her, even allegedly propositioning her for sex. In her suit, Carby says she told several officers she was leaving because of Jeff Lauder’s advances.

Carby states she got to her car and received a phone call from Shannon Lauder, telling her to come back to the house to speak with her. Carby’s suit says because Shannon Lauder was her supervisor and had been promoted, she “did not want to upset her.”

Carby says Jeff Lauder met her at the door and said his wife was upstairs. Carby alleges when she met Shannon Lauder, the major said she “had [her] blessing” to have a relationship with her husband.

According to the lawsuit, Shannon Lauder left the room, leaving Carby alone with Jeff Lauder. Carby alleges he tried to kiss her. She pushed him away, and she left.

LMPD in a statement Thursday said, “We will not tolerate sexual misconduct as it runs afoul of our mission to provide a safe work environment for our entire team and city. LMPD initiated an investigation in Oct. 2022 into this matter. We are extremely frustrated we could not reach a conclusion to this investigation as the court sided with the FOP to temporarily stop the investigation from proceeding. We take this - and all - allegations of this nature seriously and will thoroughly complete our investigation and take action.  We are currently reviewing all of the allegations in this lawsuit and will share more information as we are able to.”

Jared Smith, attorney for Shannon Lauder, also sent a statement. It said, "The Lauders have dedicated their careers to honorable policing within LMPD for 16 years. The timing of Carby’s lawsuit appears opportunistic, based on other recent sexual harassment claims against LMPD. Her allegations are unfounded. LMPD has improperly investigated this internally going back years, as cited by a recent ruling that stems from a suit filed by the FOP. This case is an example of a botched internal investigation that continued based on rumor and inuendo."

In fall 2022, Carby asked to have LMPD’s peer support team psychologist meet with the Domestic Violence Unit because “… significant cuts to officers and staff” in the unit were taking a toll.

According to the lawsuit, on Oct. 5, 2022, the peer support team met with the Domestic Violence Unit, but instead of discussing stress, the suit alleges a major with the support group announced the purpose of the meeting was that “Lauren [Carby] was finally ready to come out about the pool party.”

After the meeting, the support team major contacted Carby and encouraged her to report the Lauders’ alleged harassment and misconduct.

Carby told the major, “… many members of command were aware of the harassment and misconduct and that it should not be incumbent upon her to report the Lauders.”

According to Carby, the major spoke to the commander of the Professional Standards Unit and Public Integrity Unity about the Lauders.

Months after the peer support group and the major’s meeting with the PSU commander, a PSU investigation was opened, the lawsuit said.

Carby’s lawsuit says she gave two interviews during the PSU investigation about the Lauders and their conduct.

A separate PSU investigation was launched against the peer support group major for allegedly violating Carby’s confidentiality several times.

Sara Collins is representing Carby in this case. She said, "Her [Carby] professional life would have been so much easier had she succumbed to the pressure of Jeff Lauder and Shannon Lauder and just slept with Jeff. And she said at that point and upon that realization I was horrified and disgusted and knew I had to do something.”

In January 2023, Carby interviewed for an open sergeant's position,  and according to the lawsuit, despite being ranked No. 2 on the list, Chief Gwinn-Villaroel didn’t hire her and instead went with a lower-scoring candidate. The River City Fraternal Order of Police filed a grievance over the chief’s selection. Gwinn-Villaroel said she made her decision based on seniority.

According to the lawsuit, on May 15, 2024, Carby wrote a memo outlining the events of the August 2020 pool party at the Lauders' home and the alleged harassment by the couple. The filing says, Carby believes the previous PSU investigation into the events at the party was no longer active. She asked that her memo serve as an official PSU complaint.

As of June 20, 2024, Carby has not been notified if an internal investigation into claims will be opened.