Family gathers to remember Shelby Gazaway, who was killed by LMPD in 2019

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A Louisville family whose son was killed by Louisville Metro Police Department officers in 2019 gathered Sunday to call for police accountability and an end to police violence.

The family of Shelby Gazaway held a news conference at the corner of 35th and Bank streets, across from the Kroger on North 35th Street where Gazaway was shot and killed.

According to previous reporting, MetroSafe dispatchers received a report of multiple gunshots fired inside the Kroger on Nov. 8, 2019. When officers Patrick Norton and Alexander Dugan arrived, they said a witness who was running out of the store gave them a description of the shooter, identified as Gazaway. Police said they then saw Gazaway, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, walk out of the front entrance.

At that point, police said Gazaway turned toward Norton and Dugan and fired several shots. That’s when the two officers opened fire and the suspect was hit. LMPD Maj. Jamey Schwab said first responders attempted to render medical aid to Gazaway, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Semone Stephenson Carter, Gazaway's mother, said it's been seven months since the incident, and she misses her son everyday.

"It is still unreal. I still expect my son any day to walk into the house," Carter, said. "I miss him. I don't want anyone to feel this pain. I want justice for my son."

Gazaway's family is asking LMPD's Public Integrity Unit to investigate the case further and for the outcome of the Commonwealth Attorney's General's investigation.

The two officers involved in the shooting, Norton and Dugan, were placed on administrative leave during the investigation. The family is also asking police and the City of Louisville what the current employment statuses of the officers are.

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