LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville Metro Police officer who was reprimanded last week for shooting pepper balls at journalists during the 2020 riots after the Breonna Taylor raid is under investigation again for similar actions against protesters the same night.

LMPD on Thursday released the results of its investigation into Officer Dusten Dean for shooting pepper balls at a WAVE 3 news crew, who were live on the air on May 29, 2020.

The investigation found Dean improperly shot at the head, neck and face of the news crew, which is to be avoided except in extreme circumstances. But LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey wrote that Dean did not know they were journalists, in part because he was wearing a gas mask and face shield.

And, while exonerating Dean on three of four charges, Humphrey noted Dean first fired at the ground while ordering the news crew to move.

But in body camera footage provided to WDRB News by an attorney, Dean can be seen later that night shooting 40mm projectile munitions similar to rubber bullets at a man walking alone in a parking lot because he was "tired" of him.

Dean also told fellow officers he was firing at another person to get them to drop a sign they were holding, according to the video.

After The Courier Journal broke the story Tuesday morning, an LMPD spokesperson sent out a statement to the media saying the department would "review" the new allegations.

"Incidents that were not part of the initial investigation, and unrelated to the interaction with the journalist, were just recently brought to the attention of Chief Humphrey," according to the statement. "He takes this matter seriously and is initiating an investigation into those incidents. The police department will provide an expedient review of the new allegations."

The statement also said the investigation into Dean took four-and-a-half years because the FBI reviewed the incident for more than three years to determine if criminal charges should be filed. The FBI closed its case without charging Dean and then the internal investigation began.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a news conference Tuesday that this was just brought to his attention "with a sense of urgency.

"What I have seen on the body cam footage is very concerning," Greenberg said. "I appreciate Chief Humphrey working on this with urgency to bring this matter to a conclusion. This incident that we're talking about, which took place in 2020, and the chief's reaction to the new information that was brought to his attention, is a reflection of a new approach at LMPD. A commitment to address concerns that are brought to our attention quickly, with expediency, thoroughly and appropriately."

LMPD has not released Dean's body camera footage from that night.

Dusten Dean Pepperball

Louisville Metro Police Officer Dusten Dean can be seen shooting 40mm projectile munitions similar to rubber bullets at a man walking along in a parking lot because he was "tired" of him. (Photo courtesy of Louisville Metro Police body camera footage)

WDRB obtained the footage from attorney Ashlea Hellman, who received it as part of evidence in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a Louisville woman who was shot in the face with a rubber bullet by police during the Taylor protests. The city agreed to pay the woman $150,000 to settle the lawsuit.

One of the videos Hellmann provided included Dean’s body camera footage from that night.

At one point, Dean leaves a pack of officers and walks toward a man who is alone, saying "I'm tired of this guy over here" and shooting at him with a 40mm launcher. The man, who was walking around near a downtown bank, did not appear to pose a threat or make any movement toward officers. Dean, who never talked to the man, also shot pepper balls at him.

The man appeared to be hit by at least one round from the 40mm launcher.

In addition to firing at multiple protesters throughout the night, Dean also took specific aim at one person apparently just because they were holding a sign.

"I want that sign out of there," Dean said. "That's what I’m trying to get. I'm trying to get him to drop that sign."

After firing, Dean tells other officers, "Got him."

In its wide-ranging civil rights review of LMPD, the U.S. Department of Justice determined officers used force against protesters "who did no more than passively resist or disperse more slowly than officers desired."

The DOJ also found that "law-abiding journalists naturally got caught up in LMPD’s indiscriminate responses to the 2020 protests. LMPD subjected both credentialed press and livestreamers to mass arrests and retaliatory force. Some officers used force against journalists who were committing no crimes, posing no safety risk, and not resisting or evading arrest. LMPD thus violated the firmly established qualified right of access for the press to observe government activities."

This story may be updated. 

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