BY JOE RAGUSA | KENTUCKY
Bullet fragments found from the night David McAtee died
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A member of the Kentucky National Guard fired the fatal shot that killed David McAtee during protests in Louisville.
Governor’s Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown said bullet fragments found June 1 match the ammunition guardsmen had at the time. Guardsmen and Louisville Metro Police officers were responding to an area of Louisville’s West End neighborhood when the shooting started.
He also said McAtee fired two shots at officers before they fired back.
Police found a 9 millimeter gun in the doorway, belonging to McAtee, and gun residue on his hands.
Brown said there’s still a lot of evidence to sort through, like dozens of interviews with witnesses, radio traffic from that night, and possibly other body cam video from officers near the scene.
None of the officers involved in the shooting had their body cameras turned on.
“There’s a lot more to do, but this is very conclusive of a critical part of our investigation,” Brown said.
McAtee family lawyer Steven Romines responded to the Governor’s update by saying police instigated the matter by firing pepper balls at his home.
Steven Romines@SrominesThe Govt claims David Mcatee should have realized that an unknown projectile fired from a GUN at 400fps was a pepper ball and not a bullet,yet cops can kill black kids who have toy guns because they “feared for their life” were “under high stress” and acted in “self defense”.
Brown said McAtee fired at least two gunshots before officers returned fire, but he didn’t respond to a question about if police shot pepper balls into McAtee’s home before McAtee fired at officers.
“I don’t know, really, about the actions of the LMPD other than what I’ve actually seen in some of the videos that you have seen,” Brown said.
Gov. Andy Beshear pleaded for patience with the investigation.
“There is still significant evidence remaining to be gathered and there are still going to be questions as we continue. And there may be some questions that we can never answer,” Beshear said. “My goal is to be truthful and to provide you everything that we have, in context, as it comes in.”
Kentucky State Police is conducting an investigation into the shooting.
