LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Records show a Louisville man was locked up for months on charges stemming from a violent crime he didn't commit because he shared the same name as the suspect, a mistake that's drawn scrutiny from the Louisville Office of Inspector General.
On Jan. 15, 2023, Louisville Metro Police officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert during a domestic violence incident on East Jacob Street. Body camera footage shows an officer asking the victim "He punched you in the face closed fist?" The woman replied, "Yes, closed fist."
When officers asked for the suspect's name, the woman said, "Mikey ... Michael Anderson." The officer noted it was a common name. The woman added "I know he stays in this area."
The woman told police a man she had previously been in an intimate relationship with hit her in the face and shot at her. The woman admitted to police that she didn't really know the man and they never dated.
Officers documented blood on her lip. A camera located outside the woman's home showed the woman walking outside, as two men left in a car, one of whom pointed a gun and fired.
Nearly two years later, on Christmas Eve 2024, a Louisville man named Michael Anderson was arrested and charged with assault and wanton endangerment. His attorney, Sara Collins, said from the start Anderson insisted police had the wrong man. She said Anderson was arrested in front of his children.
Michael Anderson. Sept. 23, 2025. (WDRB Photo)
In his jail arraignment video, Anderson said "This is one of those situations where someone is actually using my social security and my name." When the judge asked "You are saying this wasn't you?" Anderson nodded yes.
Collins said Anderson spent months in jail before being placed on home incarceration. At a court hearing in April 2025, attorneys said police had arrested the wrong person.
"The man who is on that ShotSpotter video has much lighter skin tone than my client," a public defender told the judge. "My Mr. Anderson is not the Mr. Anderson that this occurred with. He also says he doesn't know her."
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Kaelin asked the prosecutor, "You agree? It doesn't appear to be him?"
The prosecutor replied "I do. I've never seen Ms. Holman's client before until today in person, so this is embarrassing. I don't feel as if I had any way to know."
Kaelin responded "I know you wouldn't, but Larry Farmer should have."
A spokesperson with SoundThinking, the parent company of the ShotSpotter technology sent a statement to WDRB, "ShotSpotter technology is exclusively audio detection. There is no video aspect to the technology. The ShotSpotter technology alerts first responders to the location of audio detected pops, booms, or bangs alone."
Records show Detective Lawrence Farmer, of LMPD's Domestic Violence Unit, investigated the case.
"Detective Farmer has the videotape the entire time where it is obviously a very different man," Collins said. "My client has dark skin. The suspect has very light skin."
The inspector general reviewed the case, and, in the OIG report, Farmer admitted "After receiving a positive ID from the victim, it appears that I may have inadvertently used information from Courtnet to list in the suspect descriptors from a different Michael Anderson."
He added that he believed he had the correct information when filing a criminal complaint and e-warrant.
"I think the most disturbing part is how easily this could happen to anyone," Collins said. "Michael Anderson is a very common name."
The case summary said, "Upon investigating further, Detective believes that the Michael Anderson that the detective showed a picture to the victim was the correct person who committed the offense in 2023, however in filling the criminal complaint, Detective used inadvertently used identifiers for another Michael Anderson who was eventually served the warrant."
The case was dismissed in May.
In an interview Tuesday, Anderson said he's a father of 8 with kids ranging in age from 4 months to 10 years old. Looking back on what happened to him, he said he's "mad, still frustrated (and) still confused."
"I don't think (my name) can be cleared because it was thrown everywhere," he said. "It was bad. It was put all over the internet."
LMPD said its Public Standards Unit opened an internal investigation in August, and Collins said Anderson plans to sue. The inspector general is asking LMPD to review all open warrants obtained by Detective Farmer then his office will review LMPD's findings.
Inspector General Ed Harness said LMPD only launched its internal investigation after his office opened one, not when the mistake was first flagged. He also said this isn’t the first time the Domestic Violence Unit filed a warrant with incorrect information and cited a separate 2022 case that ended with a man being shot and killed by U.S. Marshals.
"Unless this detective is held accountable and unless the department is held accountable, these things will continue to happen," Collins said.
Collins noted broader problems in the Domestic Violence Unit, which has faced major staffing cuts. “In 2015 There were 15 sworn detectives. In 2021 It was cut to 7 or 8. From what I understand now, there are only four. Meanwhile every year, domestic violence reports are increasing. DV homicides are increasing with a tremendous spike in 2022,” she said. She added, “When a unit is not valued, devastating consequences occur.”
In a statement, LMPD said: "As you know, no member of this agency ... or the government for that matter ... may make any public statements regarding the issue until its final disposition. The internal investigation is still ongoing."
LMPD said there is no record of anyone being arrested for the January 2023 domestic violence case.
Farmer hasn't replied to a request for comment.
"It was a bad experience, and I hope I don't go through it again," Anderson said.
Michael Anderson spent months in jail for a crime he didn't commit because of his name.
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