LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday called for the release of body camera footage after a man was shot and killed just after midnight in Louisville following an exchange of gunfire with police and members of the National Guard.
"I hope that we have answers and details today, as soon as possible, about what happened last night," Beshear said. "Good, bad or ugly, I think people deserve to know, and I trust the people of Louisville and the people of Kentucky _ if we're honest with them _ that they would be able to process it in the right way."
Beshear said two members of the National Guard fired their weapons and that both individuals have been pulled off duty until officials can determine what happened. He did not provide any information about the Louisville Metro Police Department officers who fired their weapons. He has authorized the Kentucky State Police, which he said was not involved in the shooting, to investigate the event.
"People deserve to see what they're told is true at a time when there is not a lot of trust," Beshear said.
The shooting comes at a time when tension between the public and police officers has reached a breaking point. Protests against police violence have spread across the country, and some have turned violent, with officers shooting rubber bullets and pepper spray to disperse the crowds.
Protesters in Louisville and Lexington have demanded justice for Breonna Taylor, a former EMT and emergency room technician who was shot eight times in her apartment by Louisville officers who were executing a no-knock warrant as her residence.
Her mother, Tamika Palmer, spoke during Beshear's news conference Monday and demanded that the officers involved in executing the no-knock warrant be fired, similar to the officers who were fired in Minnesota after George Floyd was killed by police.
"It's sad that we all have to be here for this, but I don't think I'm asking for too much," Palmer said. "Just justice for her."
At the news conference, Beshear stopped short of calling for the arrest of the officers, saying he supported independent investigations into what happened. The FBI is investigating Taylor's death.
On Sunday, officers and National Guard troops were clearing out a crowd in a parking lot at Dino's Food Mart at 26th Street and Broadway when shots were fired at them at around 12:15 a.m., Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad said, according to Louisville's WAVE3 TV station. The shots came after protests turned destructive, police said.
The identity of the man shot has not been released by authorities. But citing family members, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that the man was David McAtee, the owner of a popular barbecue restaurant that neighbored Dino's Food Mart.
Several gunshots could be heard in a video, obtained and shared by WLKY, that showed a large number of police and National Guard members at the scene.
A crowd gathered near the scene of the shooting on Monday morning to support the McAtee family, WAVE3 reported.
Beshear said he called in the National Guard on Saturday and Sunday because he had heard "outside agitators" were looking to capitalize on the protests to create violence.
He said the National Guard's weapons were not loaded and that they were only loaded after the National Guard and LMPD were fired upon.
He said "there is no question" that shots were fired at LMPD and the National Guard.
Several people of interest were being interviewed by police in connection to the shooting of McAtee, WAVE3 reported.
With tensions high across the country, Beshear denounced the inequalities that have led up to the moment. In the midst of a global pandemic that has disproportionately killed black Kentuckians, Beshear said the state needs to address inequalities in health care and in the criminal justice system.
"This is not the first time that people have given voice to frustration about lack of true progress," said Beshear, who was formerly the chief law enforcement officer in the state.
But when asked about what he will do to bring about the changes protesters have asked for, Beshear, said he would meet with leaders in the black community to talk about how to address health care inequity and that he will require training on implicit bias for law enforcement officers.
"There is a lot that we need to do and I don't have all those answers," Beshear said. "But my commitment is to do everything that I can."
