Truck crashes into Louisville Metro Corrections on July 13, 2021

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Police said a man in a pickup truck intentionally rammed Louisville Metro Corrections on Tuesday afternoon.

The Louisville Metro Police Department said the driver, identified through court documents as Michael Perez, 41, acted alone.

"There really is no need for any panic or public alarm," Officer Beth Ruoff, an LMPD spokeswoman, said during a news conference that took place hours after the incident.

The truck hit the front of the jail building at the intersection of Sixth and Liberty streets just after 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. According to Maj. Shannon Lauder, commander of the Louisville Metro Police Department's First Division, an off-duty officer leaving the courthouse saw a driver of a pickup truck "who appeared to intentionally ram" the jail.

"We have detained the subject who was driving that pickup truck," Lauder said.

Michael Perez mugshot.jpg

Michael M. Perez mugshot. (Photo courtesy of Louisville Metro Corrections)

Court documents say Perez "struck the Louisville Metro Corrections building ... with the intention to cause harm and damage" and "made statements (in Spanish) to a Louisville Metro Corrections officer regarding the intentional act and his disdain for law enforcement in general." 

"He refused to speak with officers and detectives on scene but advised the corrections officer that he would speak with him because the officer is also Cuban," court documents say.

Police say Perez was armed with a BB gun that "very closely resembled a real revolver and a large, fixed blade (9" or more) knife." Court documents say police obtained video showing Perez driving southbound on South 6th Street before "swerving to strike the building" where, at the time, two Metro Corrections officers were "in close proximity to where the vehicle made contact." 

Lauder said several streets were briefly blocked off in the area "out of an abundance of caution," though police did not believe anyone was in danger.

A MetroSafe supervisor said no injuries were reported. 

LMPD officers deployed shortly after the incident to keep crowds back from the scene. At one point, the perimeter was back to Congress Alley near City Hall. The Hall of Justice was evacuated while offers processed the scene.

The LMPD Bomb Squad was on the scene. Ruoff said a bomb detection dog did not detect anything suspicious in the vehicle.

Steve Durham, assistant director of Louisville Metro Corrections, said the truck hit near the front door of the building. Court documents say the damages are estimated to be over $1,000.

"At the time, no one was coming in or leaving the building," he said.

He said officials were assessing the structural integrity of the building and found no significant structural damage. He said the truck hit a column between the entrance and exit doors in the front of the jail. Immediately after the crash, he said all administrative staff on the front side of the building had were evacuated, although other employees, including corrections officers, remained inside the jail.

Durham said the jail plans to resume normal operations Wednesday.

He said members of a crisis intervention team were talking to inmates, telling them what happened. 

"Everybody is all right," he said. "No one was hurt in this particular event. There is just some concern that inmates have, so we're trying to answer those questions."

The truck bore the phrase, "Patria Y Vida," which had been painted on the side. It's a Spanish phrase that translates into "Homeland and Life." It is also the name of a song by Yotuel, Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno and Maykel Osorbo.

According to a report by NPR, that song has become a rallying cry of protesters in Cuba. The phrase is a spin on the Cuban communist government's long-held slogan "patria o muerte," meaning homeland or death, NPR reported earlier this month. The song, NPR says, accuses the Cuban government of destroying the country’s quality of life.

Police have not said if the phrase is in any way connected to the crash.

"We're not sure of his motive at this time," Lauder said.

The truck was towed from the scene. Ruoff said Perez was being interviewed by police. He was eventually booked into Metro Corrections on charges of wanton endangerment and criminal mischief.

This story may be updated.

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