Police bodycams not on when man was shot dead, mayor says
Louisville death involves officers, National Guard
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mayor Greg Fischer said Monday afternoon that police officers involved with National Guard personnel in the early morning shooting of the owner of a barbecue business had not activated their body cameras during the incident.
Fischer said Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad, who announced his resignation in May, has been fired, and a nightly 9 p.m.-to-6:30 a.m. curfew has been extended to June 8.
Gov. Andy Beshear ordered Kentucky State Police to investigate the fatal shooting by police and National Guard personnel.
The man killed was David McAtee, owner of a barbecue business next to the Dino’s Food Mart parking lot where the shooting took place, McAtee’s nephew told The Louisville Courier Journal of the USA TODAY Network.
Police and National Guard troops, who have been monitoring protests, were breaking up a “large crowd” in the food mart’s parking lot around 12:15 a.m. local time when someone shot at them, Conrad said Monday morning.
They returned fire, killing McAtee. No one else was injured.
Conrad said it is unclear if the deceased was the person who fired at officers.
McAtee’s body was still at the scene of the crime Monday afternoon. A group of LMPD officers in face shields formed a line behind the crime scene tape, facing neighbors and protesters.
Many of the observers said they either knew McAtee or had eaten his barbecue. A group of about 100 people lined the sidewalk across the street from the LMPD line. Many lived in the neighborhood, and some said they’d been at other protests over the weekend.
The shooting outside Dino’s Food Mart came after a curfew had once again taken effect at 9 p.m. Sunday as amid protests and unrest over the death of Breonna Taylor continued for the fourth straight night in Louisville.
Taylor, 26, an ER technician was fatally
“We cannot let Breonna’s legacy be marred by violence and we can’t let our streets turn violent.” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear
shot in March by Louisville police officers serving a warrant inside her apartment.
Beshear announced Saturday morning that he was sending roughly 350 Kentucky National Guard personnel to Louisville to “ensure the safety of everybody” and “help keep peace.”
“We cannot let Breonna’s legacy be marred by violence and we can’t let our streets turn violent,” Beshear said.
“I hope everybody knows that this is a big step and a tough step. It’s not one intended to silence any voice because I want to hear,” the governor said, “but I want to make sure, at the end of the day, that we are all safe.”