LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The day after Louisville Metro Police shot and killed a man who was firing at officers in Clifton, the city's mayor was asked why the police department is leading the investigation into itself and not state police.
The police shooting happened Thursday, Aug. 3, just after 10 p.m. on Frankfort Avenue.
LMPD Chief Jacqueline Gwinn-Villaroel said officers were called to the 2000 block of New Main Street on a report that shots had been fired around 9:56 p.m. Shortly after officers arrived on scene, they reported that shots were being fired at them.
Police fired back, hitting the suspect — identified Friday as James Monti, 47 — who later died at University of Louisville Hospital.
Gwinn-Villaroel said LMPD would be leading the investigation into the shooting, which she said was in its early stages. She also said there is body camera footage of the shooting, but did not elaborate on when it might be released.
Friday, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg was asked why LMPD is investigating itself in this case and not Kentucky State Police.
LMPD previously released body camera footage, names of officers involved, photos and employment files of officers within 24 hours of a police shooting. That slowed after LMPD officers killed Breonna Taylor as the city decided to turn police shooting investigations over to KSP, which has statewide jurisdiction and investigates police shootings throughout the state at the request of local law enforcement agencies.
In July 2020, former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced that KSP would conduct independent investigations into LMPD shootings in an effort to improve public trust.
"The policy that we inherited did involve the Kentucky State Police taking the lead, but this is not the first officer-involved shooting this year," Greenberg said. "It has been done both ways already this year, and so for this particular event, right now, LMPD is taking the lead in this investigation."
The last time Louisville police shot and killed a person was June 19, when an undercover officer fatally shot a man police said was trying to rob him in the Portland neighborhood. KSP investigated the case, releasing body camera footage from the shooting 10 days later.
The last time LMPD investigated itself was in February, when an officer accidentally shot two teenagers in the city's Chickasaw neighborhood. At the time, the department said KSP "instructed LMPD to conduct the investigation" in that case. LMPD released body camera footage from the shooting nearly two weeks later.
The mayor didn't answer questions about whether or not LMPD is reversing its policy about investigating itself. He said body camera footage of Thursday night's shooting would be released when practical, but neither he nor Gwinn-Villaroel provided a possible timeline.
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- Authorities identify man killed by Louisville police after shooting at officers
- Louisville police shoot, kill man who was firing at officers in Clifton, chief says
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