LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A former Louisville Metro Police officer who was facing a felony civil rights charge from the night David McAtee was killed has instead pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor deprivation of civil rights under the color of law.

Katie Crews admitted she used "unreasonable force" by shooting pepper balls at McAtee's niece, Machelle McAtee on June 1, 2020, striking her once in the shoulder, as the woman was standing on private property and not a threat to officers. 

Under terms of the plea agreement, Crews will avoid any time in prison and be placed on probation with the stipulation that she not seek a job in law enforcement again. 

U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton still must approve the plea deal, though he indicated in court Tuesday that he "was not aware of any reason" he would object. Crews is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 30. 

She faces a maximum of one year incarceration and a $100,000 fine under the misdemeanor charge. The victim in the case, who was not in court Tuesday, has not requested any restitution. 

If Judge Beaton decides the plea agreement is too lenient, it would be withdrawn and both sides would resume negotiations. If Beaton accepts the plea, Crews will still be able to vote and own a firearm. 

Under the initial felony charge, Crews was facing up to 10 years in prison. 

"Whatever she gets she deserves," David McAtee's mother Odessa Riley. "(Crews) is the one that started everything and she is the one that got my son killed. So I am glad she pleaded guilty, she knew she was wrong."

Crews and her attorney, Steve Schroering, declined to comment as they left the courthouse. 

Crews was fired earlier this year due to violations of the department's social media rules and for conduct unbecoming.

She now works as a K-9 handler, though not with law enforcement. 

She was indicted for firing a pepper ball at a woman identified as "M.M." shortly before the 2020 shooting death of McAtee, a west Louisville business owner.

Crews "fired a pepperball at M.M., striking M.M., on June 1, 2020, while M.M. was standing on private property and not posing a threat to the defendant or others," the indictment says. 

"After giving verbal commands, I did shoot more pepper balls in her direction," Crews told investigators in a June 5, 2020, interview. "She still refused, so I did shoot off more non-lethal pepper balls in her direction."

Records obtained by WDRB News show Crews was under two professional standards investigations, one for the social media rules and another in which she was found to have violated procedure, de-escalation and use of chemical policies.

In the report from the Louisville Metro Merit Board, investigators found Crews posted a comment on Facebook "which could be construed as promoting violence."

"P.S. I hope the pepper balls that she got lit up with a little hurt," she wrote. "Come back and get you some tonight ole girl, I'll be on the line again tonight."

Attorneys for McAtee’s family say Crews initiated the sequence of events leading to McAtee’s death, shooting pepper balls at people in front of YaYa’s, forcing them to run inside the restaurant’s kitchen door and then continuing to fire, hitting McAtee’s niece.

"When you lose a child, especially like I lost my son David, a piece of you goes on with that child," Riley said. " It's something you never get over and I think about my son all the time."

The incident and subsequent death of McAtee, killed by a Kentucky National Guard soldier, occurred after Louisville police and guard members arrived at Dino’s Food Mart at 26th Street and Broadway in the Russell neighborhood to disperse a crowd in violation of the then-citywide curfew in response to protests over the death of Breonna Taylor.

In May 2021, Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine announced his office would not pursue criminal charges against any of the LMPD officers or National Guard members involved in the shooting.

While he decided Crews should not be criminally charged, Wine wrote that "Crews' failure to follow written policy cannot be ignored and conduct, while not criminal, should be reviewed by LMPD" for possible violations.

LMPD Chief Erika Shields called Crews' actions intolerable and said her conduct demanded her termination.

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