Louisville's inspector general alleges Louisville police lied in search warrant that led to man's death

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The 2022 shooting death of Omari Cryer by the U.S. Marshals Office during a joint arrest with Louisville police has prompted several allegations of wrongdoing from Louisville’s Metro Inspector General, including police making false statements in both a search warrant affidavit and criminal complaint.

Inspector General Ed Harness said Wednesday at a meeting of the city’s Civilian Review and Accountability Board that police will have until March 9 to investigate 12 issues found in the killing of Cryer and report back to the board.

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.

In addition, 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.

A collage made by family and friends of Omari Cryer

Cryer's family, who have been vocal since the 2021 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 will be updated.

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