LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville police identified the two officers Monday who shot and killed a woman last week after they said she charged at them with a sharp object during a mental health crisis.
Aaron Ellis, a spokesperson for Louisville Metro Police, said officers Robert Baker and Robert Gabbard were involved in the shooting.
Baker joined LMPD on Feb. 20, 2023, and has 10 letters of commendation along with a letter of reprimand for a "chargeable accident." In 2024, a Louisville man wrote Baker a thank you later after he refused to shoot him amid a mental health crisis.
Gabbard joined LMPD five months after Baker and has 19 letters of commendation with no reprimands.
Deputy Chief Emily McKinley said Friday, March 27, that patrol officers responded at 7:45 p.m. to the 9800 block of Vieux Carre Drive on a report of a person "experiencing a mental health or behavioral health crisis."
Once on scene, officers learned there was a 28-year-old woman with self-inflicted lacerations who was armed with a piece of glass or an edged weapon and locked in a bathroom, McKinley said.
The woman was "highly agitated, incoherent and making suicidal statements." Police on scene attempted to de-escalate through verbal communication and requested additional officers bring less-lethal tools.
McKinley said because there was a weapon and other people present, the situation did not meet the criteria for diversion or a mobile crisis response.
As she continued making "agitated, suicidal statements" from the bathroom, crews with the Anchorage-Middletown Fire Department responded and forced entry.
When the door was opened, McKinley said the woman exited and charged at officers with a large, sharp object. Two officers identified Monday as Baker and Gabbard fired their weapons, striking the woman.
The victim, identified by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office as Katelyn Hall, was taken to University of Louisville Hospital where she died.
LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit is investigating the shooting, and the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
Per department policy, additional information and body camera footage from the shooting will be made public within 10 business days.
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