LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Metro Police Department has identified an officer who shot a man during a carjacking investigation.
That officer has been identified as Officer William Stull, whose personnel file was released by LMPD on Friday, more than a month after LMPD's statement.
The incident took place on the afternoon of Dec. 12, in Louisville's Algonquin neighborhood.
According to LMPD Officer Beth Ruoff, that's where officers were investigating a report of a carjacking where someone had been shot. At about 5 p.m., while officers were near the intersection of Harrod Court and Patton Court, police said a man began shooting at officers.
"As they were establishing a crime scene, a man began shooting at officers, an officer discharged his weapon, injuring that man, who was then transported to U of L Hospital for treatment of what appears to be non-life threatening injuries," Ruoff said.
Police say the carjacking victim was taken away in "stable condition."
On Dec. 14, LMPD released a statement indicating that, contrary to current policy, it would be handling the shooting investigation, rather than the Kentucky State Police.
"Given the extraordinary circumstances and ongoing aftermath of the devastating tornadoes in Western Kentucky, Kentucky State Police (KSP) resources are limited, and LMPD is handling the investigation for the officer-involved shooting," the agency said, in a written statement. "We will follow the protocols already established by KSP and will release the name and photo of the involved officer within 72 hours. Following those same established protocols, body camera footage will be released at a later date.
"We will continue to communicate with KSP throughout the investigation, which will also undergo review by that agency, prior to being submitted to the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office."
On Friday, LMPD also said it would not be releasing the body camera footage at this time, "as investigators are still attempting to identify and interview witnesses shown in the video."
Released in Stull's personnel file, he was among a group of police shoveling snow for the elderly in West Louisville in February 2021. It's one of seven commendations since 2019 released in his police file.
The records don’t show any disciplines, but now there’s a different type of review by the department's top brass.
“LMPD has always had transparency issues, just like Metro government has had some pretty big transparency issues,” said David James, longtime Metro Council president and former president of the union representing Louisville Metro Police officers, D-6.
In a Dec. 14 email to WDRB News, LMPD said basic information in this case would come in 72 hours: who fired the shot, a name, a picture of the officer and their personnel file.
The department has yet to release the body cam footage.
“It's problematic that they have not released that information to the public especially in light of everything that we've gone through in the past year and a half,” said James.
Protest after the police killing of Breonna Taylor changed city policies. So much so, Mayor Greg Fischer decided LMPD shootings would be investigated by Kentucky State Police.
State police does all interviews before releasing video— typically a two-week delay.
This time, state police could not take the shooting in the Algonquin neighborhood as they were stretched thin by the tornadoes that hit western Kentucky, leaving LMPD to once again investigate itself.
“We're hoping to gather momentum from different places of the state so there's a separate 'shoot team' as you will, from the state that have some investigative abilities but certainly a priority,” said Fischer, who also wants a statewide taskforce with local and federal officers to investigate future police shootings.
Currently KSP's critical incident response team handles most of these cases and as the numbers increase outcomes continue to be delayed.
Fischer said the state’s budget is more flushed out now than it's ever been and there’s more suggestions to pour money into law enforcement, KSP and public safety.
“This would be a great way to create a separate investigative unit to take the pressure off KSP,” said Fischer.
Why does this matter?
Louisville's police force is currently under federal investigation after the Taylor case. Truthfulness, transparency and a lack of public trust hover around the department, but an end may be in sight. During the latest Louisville Metro Council Podcast 02: Let's Talk About LMPD and Public Safety, LMPD Assistant Chief, Lt. Colonel Paul Humphrey talks about the Department of Justice’s investigation of the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government and Louisville Metro Police Department.
“They’ll come out with a report. Usually these investigations, the investigation phase takes between 13 months and a year and a half. And we’re about 9 months into this,” said Lt. Humphrey. “So, we can expect something in the next 6 months or so, hopefully, as far as the results of the investigation. And then we’ll go into a negotiation phase where we’ll come to an agreement of, these are the things that we both agree we need to do differently; we need to improve.”
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