LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A Louisville police officer's body camera system didn't capture the fatal shooting of Brian Allen Thurman during a traffic stop in the city's Portland neighborhood November 22, according to footage released Monday by Kentucky State Police.
Officer Harry Seeders' camera is dislodged as the car Thurman is driving backs up as the officer orders him to stop seven times, the video shows.
As the car moves back, it appears to touch Seeders, who is approaching from the rear. At that point, with the camera facing the pavement, five gunshots are heard.
"He's in the front seat," Seeders says as other police apparently arrive on the scene near 22nd and Gilligan streets just after 10:15 p.m. "He's hit. He's hit. He ran over me with the car."
The nearly three-minute video provides the first public look at what happened in the death of Thurman, 49, who was shot and killed during the traffic stop.
(The newly released body camera video can be viewed below:)
A statement from the KSP Public Affairs Commander regarding an LMPD OIS on November 22, 2020.
Kentucky State Police is investigating the shooting at the request of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's administration.
Sgt. Billy Gregory, the state agency's public affairs commander, said in a video statement that the footage released Monday is just one piece of evidence in its investigation.
The video captures Seeders pulling over a silver Honda SUV, which Gregory said was confirmed as a stolen vehicle. The car comes to a stop in a parking area on Gilligan.
Seeders yells for the car's occupants to show their hands and turn off the car. Thurman appears to show his hands, then opens his door and puts one foot on the ground.
"Stay in the car," Seeders says. "Don't move. Don't move."
Thurman then closes his door. About 17 seconds later, Seeders shouts, "Stay in the car!" to someone who appears to be the passenger. (It can't be seen on the video, but Gregory said the passenger exited the car.)
Then, three seconds later, the car can be heard starting its engine and its reverse lights come on.
Seeders then yells for the driver to stop before the rest of the encounter is blocked once the camera comes loose.
Interim LMPD Chief Yvette Gentry said last week that Thurman was inside the vehicle when he was shot. He later died at the hospital.
The city tapped KSP to handle officer shootings as protests erupted in the aftermath of the death of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in a March raid while officers executed a search warrant at her apartment, and David McAtee, a business owner who was shot and killed outside his restaurant in the city's Russell neighborhood.
Brett Hankison, who is challenging his termination by LMPD, has been charged with wanton endangerment for firing shots into a neighboring apartment after Taylor’s boyfriend shot Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. He has pleaded not guilty.
A state police investigation into the McAtee shooting isn't complete.
Monday's release comes more than a week after the shooting, highlighting discrepancies between days after LMPD typically releases body camera footage and identifies officers who fired their weapons.
Fischer previously said KSP committed to a 72-hour time frame, which passed Wednesday, on releasing body camera footage from its LMPD investigations. KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr., however, made no promises of meeting that deadline last Tuesday.
“We do not release video footage or specific details until it is safe to do so in the investigative process for witness and officer safety,” he said in a statement.
Jean Porter, Fischer’s communications director, said Wednesday that the city will respect the “independent investigatory approach” offered by KSP.
“The transition from having LMPD lead the investigation to KSP is revealing differences in policies and practices, including the timing of the release of body camera video,” Porter said in a statement. “… We have entrusted this investigation to the KSP in whom we have the fullest confidence.”
Fischer announced this summer his intention to have the state police take over officer shooting investigations, a move he has promised would allow for more independence.
But months later, no formal deal has been reached.
Porter said last week that KSP and the Fischer administration had a “written agreement” on October 20. However, she said, the state police told city officials that agreement was “mistakenly signed and needed to be revoked” to reflect changes sought by the Kentucky Justice and Public Protection Cabinet.
Gregory said that agreement was withdrawn on October 9 and replaced with a new proposal on November 13. That memorandum of understanding hasn't yet been finalized.
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