LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A few weeks after two officers were shot in Louisville's Smoketown neighborhood, Louisville Metro Police released body camera video Wednesday from multiple officers.
The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19 after LMPD said a tip led them to a stolen vehicle.
The newly released body camera video shows the suspect, Jeremiah Thompson, 19, outside a home on Roselane Street, not far from the car in question, a Kia Soul.
"My shoe is in the car, but I wasn't in the car driving it," Thompson tells officer in the video. "I swear to God. I was just getting my shoe, sir."
LMPD said, after confirming the car was stolen, police tried to detain Thompson, which led to a struggle on the ground.
Two officers — Brendan Koerner and Laxman Acharya — were shot while trying to gain control of Thompson's hands, according to the citation. One officer was shot in the right hand and "caused serious physical injury requiring surgery," and the other officer was shot in the left leg.
LMPD said both are now home recovering.
A third officer was also involved in the struggle with Thompson but was not injured.
Thompson was shot as well. LMPD said all were injured from a single shot fired from a handgun "in Thompson's possession." When asked exactly where Thompson had the gun, such as a pocket, LMPD said Wednesday that is still part of the investigation.
"If that suspect had cooperated, that wouldn't have happened," LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey said Wednesday. "So, regardless how it happened, it's his fault still."
Humphrey has said no officers fired a gun.
In the video, Thompson is heard telling an officer he was not the driver. However, the citation states, "the subject admitted to driving the vehicle ..."
When asked about that Wednesday, Humphrey said, "I'm not going to get into specifics on that just because of my own ignorance. I wasn't in on the interviews but I do know he was interviewed afterwards and things like that so. His shoe was in the driver's seat."
Thompson's attorney, John Olash, said in a written statement Wednesday that LMPD withheld the body camera footage from Thompson until after his initial hearing and referenced a court appearance from the day prior, Dec. 3.
"(It's) straight from the Scottie Scheffler playbook: conceal video evidence of police misconduct for as long as possible," Olash said. "LMPD's concealed the body cam video because the video shows Jeremiah did nothing wrong. Contrary to the Sergeant's deceptive testimony, Jeremiah was cooperative, respectful and compliant. The video shows Jeremiah was not in possession of a stolen KIA. The video shows Jeremiah told police he did not drive the KIA. Why would a LMPD (sergeant) hide favorable evidence from the court? Contrary to yesterday's testimony that Jeremiah was standing next to the stolen KIA, the body cam shows Jeremiah was never near the Kia; he was standing on his front porch. It's disturbing that a member from the police integrity unit would mislead the court by claiming Officer Walsh ordered Jeremiah to release his hands when the body cam video shows that never happened. LMPD has more videos of the false arrest but continues to conceal the videos while an innocent young man sits in jail."
During Wednesday's news conference during which the body camera videos were released Wednesday morning, Humphrey said he's proud of the officers and will let the investigation play out.
"You can understand the risks that go along with this job and what we're asking officers to go out there and do on a day-to-day basis and how important it is that they do that type of work," he said.
Jeremiah Thompson, 19, had his arm in a sling, when he pleaded not guilty to firing a shot that injured two Louisville Metro Police officers during a struggle on Roselane Street in the Smoketown neighborhood. (WDRB Image) Nov. 21, 2024
Thompson is charged with assault of a police officer, wanton endangerment and receiving stolen property. During Thompson's first court appearance, Olash pushed to get video played that he said disproved the complaint.
"This is basically a stolen car case where my client's near a stolen car," Olash told a judge. "And it just went sour because of police failure to follow the protocol."
The judge did not allow that video to be played in court that day and set Thompson's bond at $100,000.
"I'm not going to make a judgement on adherence to policy and stuff like that right now," Humphrey said Wednesday. "I'm going to wait for that investigation to pan out. We do have a typical use of force that happened here with the takedown and everything. So that process will go through. That being said, I'm still waiting to find lawyers that are experts on our policy. So he can say what he wants, but lawyers have never been held to a standard of truth."
LMPD said it's thankful the situation didn't end with injuries more severe.
"While that might seem like an innocuous property crime where somebody's upset that their car was stolen, it turns out to also be a gun crime where people almost lost their lives — including the suspect at his own hands," Humphrey said. "So we're fortunate and we're grateful that didn't happen."
Related Stories:
- 19-year-old man arrested after stolen vehicle stop ended in 2 LMPD officers being shot
- Video shows 2 Louisville police officers shot while trying to detain stolen car suspect
- 2 Louisville police officers shot in city's Smoketown neighborhood
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