911 calls reveal violent night, nurses pleading for help at Louisville psychiatric hospital

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Newly obtained 911 recordings uncover a night of chaos at UofL Peace Hospital and why LMPD officers were kept away from the scene.

Records show nurses phoned 911 around 8:30 p.m. on March 8 saying 15 juveniles in the Louisville psychiatric hospital were fighting and out of control and staff was caught in the middle trying to break it up.

"We've lost control...the kids they're out of control," one nurse whose name was redacted from the city audio file said to the 911 operator.

"I can't get out there to help. There's not enough," he added.

The exhaustion is evident in their voice. The phone is passed from one nurse to another, each panting slightly and sounding out of breath. They plead for police to be sent as they were locked behind closed doors in the nursing station with an injured coworker.

"They have one patient for sure bleeding from the lip. (He) was punched in the head multiple times and strangled," The 911 operator radioed to officers headed toward the scene on Newburg Road. "They have him inside of an office on the three South nurses station. But the juvenile male assailant is trying to break the door down to the office."

At one point in the audio loud banging can be heard and you can hear screaming and commotion in the background.

"That's one of the patients banging. He's banging on the the wall at the nurse's station."

Metrosafe dispatch records show Louisville Metro Police officers on scene about 14 minutes after the first call for help but security at the hospital refused to let officers in the door.

"They are not allowing us to come inside to assist them because of our weapons," the officer radioed back to the 911 operator.

A spokesperson for UofL Health said its policy allows law enforcement to carry authorized weapons within their facilities.

"There has been recent communication and education to reemphasize that policy allowing officers access when called," UofL Health Media Manger Heather Fountaine said. "Measures including additional security and enhanced training have been taken at Peace Hospital to ensure safety for both patients and staff."

Peace Hopsital CEO Aundrea Lewis resigned 12 days after the incident. She wrote to colleagues that she was going to take some time off for "myself, my family and my health."

Fontaine said Lewis' departure was her own decision and not due to the chaotic night. Sources told WDRB in the days that followed the chaotic night, several employees called out sick over safety concerns.

According to UofL Health, Peace Hospital has 363 licensed beds, with 261 of those operating, that provides care for children, adolescents and adults.

Lewis' last day will be April 18.

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