LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey said allegations that police lied on a search warrant affidavit and criminal complaint in the 2022 shooting death of Omari Cryer, among other claims, were “crap” and “misleading,” in an interview Thursday.

Wednesday, Louisville’s Metro Inspector General Ed Harness made several allegations of police misconduct in the case at a meeting of the city’s Civilian Review and Accountability Board and gave police until March 9 to investigate 12 issues found in the killing of Cryer and report back to the board.

But in an interview with WDRB News, Humphrey said the department had already “poured in several hours” reviewing body camera, documentation and other evidence in the case and that the report from the Office of Inspector General was “completely misleading.”

“I think it’s inappropriate for the Office of Inspector General to do that,” Humphrey told WDRB News. “Our officers did not lie on those warrants.”

Humphrey said it’s important that LMPD build trust, and external oversight is an important part of that, but “releasing inappropriate findings like this is so damaging to our ability to build public trust and I’m not going to sit here and let him disparage LMPD in that way.

“I will always tell you when we are wrong.”

In a statement released Friday, Harness said, "we are encouraged to hear the Chief will, in fact, be taking our report seriously.

"... The OIG and CR&AB await LMPD’s written response explaining whether it agrees with our findings, and if not, the reasons it would not accept our recommendations."

Cryer, 25, was killed in the Chickasaw neighborhood in west Louisville on May 20, 2022. He was shot twice by a deputy U.S. Marshal after fleeing from an apartment when a joint task force involving Louisville Metro Police and the U.S. Marshals Office went to arrest him on a warrant. No LMPD officer fired their weapons during the incident.

Cryer was wanted on charges related to domestic violence, including assault and strangulation. He ran from officers and fell after jumping over a fence. Police said Cryer grabbed a gun from his waistband.

The office of inspector general investigation reviewed documents from the Marshals office, an internal investigation by Louisville police, body camera footage, search warrant affidavits and court records, among other evidence.

The result of the investigation, according to Harness, shows a 4th Amendment violation for search and seizure as well as “unexplained evidence found in ‘plain view.’” He did not elaborate on the allegation.

Harness said the investigation shows LMPD detectives submitted false information on Cryer’s criminal complaint and lacked support for an arrest warrant. He said the board is also asking police to look into missing documents from the case file.

But Humphrey maintained police did not lie about the charges against Cryer, which the victim described to an officer wearing a body camera, and Harness “clearly doesn’t understand how the criminal justice system operates.”

“Those charges are completely appropriate,” he said.

Humphrey said there may have been some mistakes made in the case, but no “maleficence” like what Harness claimed in the report.

“I’m not going to stand for it,” he said. “Those officers did a great job.”

On Wednesday, Harness said, “we believe the evidence shows that the LMPD sergeant submitted a search warrant affidavit with false information. We are recommending an investigation into possible false statements on the search warrant affidavit.”

Harness said there also needs to be a review as to why the search warrant was sealed.

“We believe it was possibly unnecessary,” he said.

The Inspector General position was created in the wake of the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor, in which Louisville police officers lied on a search warrant to raid her home.

In the Cryer case, Harness said it is questionable whether Cryer’s charges warranted a joint task force raid, and the board was recommending police create standard operating procedure on the use of such a task force.

Harness also said police did not turn on their body cameras during the search of the home.

As for the use of deadly force, the office of inspector general lacks the jurisdiction to issue findings on the shooting because a U.S. Marshal fired the shot that killed Cryer.

In body camera footage released in 2022, the shooter is not seen on camera.

Cryer's family, who have been vocal since the 2022 incident, attended Wednesday’s hearing and has said prosecutors declined to press charges in the case. The family have also asked the Department of Justice to step in, much like they did in Taylor's case, raising concerns about the use of excessive force and lack of accountability.

“Nothing said or done in here today will ever give Omari back,” said Vanessa Jameson, a family representative. “But what we can do is change policies, to ensure mistakes by officers of the law aren’t brushed under the rug.”

A spokesperson for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office sent WDRB a statement previously that said the officers "acted within the law."

The Inspector General’s report recommends significant changes to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“We’re wondering whether or not domestic violence warrants fit the criteria for that operation,” Harness said. “We’re recommending the creation of a standard operating procedure (SOP) addressing the implementation and use of such task forces.”

The DOJ in 2023 released the results of an investigation into LMPD, slamming the department for a pattern and practice of excessive force, discriminating against Black people, problems with unlawful or invalid search warrants and improperly investigating issues of domestic abuse. Cryer's family believes all of those issues could have led to him dying at the hands of law enforcement.

This story may be updated. 

Related Stories:

Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.