Louisville Police Shoot Another Black Man In Cold Blood During Rebellion. Mayor Says Cops Didn’t Turn On Their Body Cameras
Body cameras weren’t activated when authorities fatally shot Louisville restaurant owner David McAtee in the early hours Monday, and the mayor says the police chief — who announced his resignation in May — has been fired.
McAtee, 53, owned YaYa’s BBQ on one of the busiest corners of the city. He was shot and killed by police officers and National Guard personnel early Monday morning. The killing is being investigated by state and local police.
Known as a pillar of the community, McAtee cooked at community events and gave free meals to the police. He had dreams of one day buying the lot at 26th and Broadway, and building a brick-and-mortar restaurant, the Courier Journal reported.
“He was one of the ones who would donate all his time and all his food,” said Greg Cotton, Jr. in an interview Monday. “Everybody could just come up and take it and he wouldn’t charge because it was for the neighborhood.”
“My son was a good son,” said his mother, Odessa Riley. “All he did on that barbecue corner is try to make a dollar for himself and his family. And they come along and they killed my son.”
The shooting took place around 12:15 a.m. Monday.
Louisville police and National Guard troops, who had been monitoring area protests, were breaking up a “large crowd” of protesters gathered in a food mart parking lot next door YaYa’s at about 12:15 a.m. when someone shot at them. Officers and soldiers “returned fire,” Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Steve Conrad said in a statement on Monday. The identities of the suspect and the law enforcement officers who returned fire have not been released.
Police officers involved with National Guard personnel had not activated their body cameras during the incident, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said on Monday afternoon.
Conrad, who already announced his resignation in May, has been fired, Fischer said.
It is unclear if the victim was the person who fired at officers, Conrad said.
Police have given few details about the circumstances and haven’t yet said if multiple officers or guardsmen opened fire. They also haven’t identified the victim yet. Some activists question whether there was a protest in the lot at all, USA Today reported.
McAtee’s identity was confirmed by his nephew to The Courier Journal Monday.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ordered Kentucky State Police to investigate the fatal shooting by Louisville Metro Police and National Guard.
The governor said that he wants video and body camera footage from the incident to be released “before nightfall,” USA Today reported.
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McAtee’s body still had not been removed from the scene of his death on Monday afternoon. Police officers wearing face shields formed a line behind the crime scene tape, facing neighbors and protesters.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said there’s a “significant” amount of body camera footage from the incident, and he contacted Mayor Fischer and the LMPD to release it “as soon as possible.”
Protests in downtown Louisville have started out peacefully each evening and turned more chaotic as the sun has set, USA Today reported. The fewest protesters were reported on Sunday night.