KSP details timeline for releasing body camera footage from recent Louisville police shootings

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky State Police on Wednesday night provided a timeline for its plans to release body camera video of two recent police shootings in Louisville.

Video of a Louisville Metro Police officer shooting a man after a March 9 chase ended behind a Walmart in the West Buechel neighborhood "is expected to be released this week," Sgt. Billy Gregory with KSP said Wednesday in a statement.

In his written statement Gregory said video of an LMPD officer shooting a man March 11 in the Beechmont neighborhood will be released "once vital witnesses have been interviewed and pertinent facts gathered. KSP expects to be able to release the information next week.

LMPD provided few details about both shootings at their respective scenes. The department has not provided updates since KSP took over the investigations per a policy implemented in the wake of the fatal shootings of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee by authorities in Louisville.

On March 9, LMPD officers attempted to stop a vehicle in the St. Matthews area with a license plate that was reportedly stolen, according to police, but the driver refused to stop.

Those officers chased the driver several miles, during which police said he hit several cars and caused a wreck. Residents on Fernview Drive told WDRB News that the driver also drove through their cards and smashed fences while he was being pursued.

The chase ended behind the Walmart Supercenter at 2020 Bashford Manor Ln., near Bardstown Road. In a statement, LMPD Officer Beth Ruoff said an officer and the man exchanged gunfire, and the man was shot.

"Officers rendered first aid and the suspect was transported to University of Louisville Hospital for treatment of his injuries," Ruoff said in the statement.

LMPD has not provided the man's name or an update on his condition.

The man shot by an officer March 11 in the Beechmont neighborhood was identified in court records as Bryan Nigel Beach, 26, of Simpsonville, Kentucky.

Beach's arrest report says he tried to run away from an investigator with the Louisville Fire Department's Arson Bureau who was trying to place him under arrest for second-degree arson.

At the time of the shooting, Ruoff said in a statement that the Louisville Fire Department's Arson Bureau asked for LMPD's assistance to arrest a suspect wanted for a "domestic violence-related arson" at about 2:30 p.m. on Ashland Avenue, near the corner of Maple and South Fifth streets in Louisville.

Ruoff said that LMPD officers found the suspect "in a residential area" of Maple Court. He was armed with a knife, according to Ruoff, "and a struggle ensued."

The arrest report corroborates Ruoff's account but adds that Beach "attempted to cut his own neck with the knife."

"LMPD Officers gave several commands to Mr. Beach to stop cutting himself and to drop the knife," the arrest report states. "Mr. Beach did not obey the officer's (sic) commands."

Ruoff said police tried to use less-than-lethal force to subdue the the suspect — techniques which included tasing and pepper balls — according to the arrest report. Both techniques were ineffective, the report says.

"As officers attempted to apprehend Mr. Beach, he knocked one officer ... to the ground and stood over top (sic) of him," the report says. "While standing over the officer, Mr. Beach attempted to stab the officer with the intent to cause death."

The arrest report does not reference a shooting. However, according to Ruoff's account last week, an LMPD officer fired his or her gun, hitting the suspect. He was hospitalized after the shooting and his condition was not released.

The officer Beach tried to stab was taken to University of Louisville Hospital to be treated for injuries sustained in the struggle, according to the arrest report. Ruoff said at the time that the officer suffered a head injury. His or her condition has not been released.

Beach was charged with the attempted murder of a police officer, third-degree assault of a police or probation officer, first-degree fleeing or evading police on foot and resisting arrest, according to his arrest report. He was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning, online court documents show. However, a note in the court system indicates that Beach may still be in the hospital.

The shootings are the second and third assigned to KSP since the new policy was put in place. In its first investigation, KSP took eight days to release body camera footage of Officer Harry Seeders shooting and killing Brian Allen Thurman, 49, during a Nov. 22, 2020, traffic stop in the Portland neighborhood.

"KSP is committed to being transparent while ensuring the integrity of the investigation," Gregory said in the statement Wednesday.

When LMPD investigated shootings involving officers internally, the department typically released body camera footage and identified any officers who fired their weapons within 24 hours of an incident.

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