More than a week after an Louisville Metro Police officer shot and killed a man during a traffic stop, body camera footage and the officer’s name have been shared with the public.
Officer Harry Seeders shot 49-year-old Brian Allen Thurman during a traffic stop November 22 in the Portland neighborhood. Seeders has been on the force since 2018, and is on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.
In roughly three minutes of body camera footage, Seeders pulls over a Honda CR-V, driven by Thurman, that he said was reported stolen. He tells Thurman to turn off the car and show him his hands, which Thurman does by opening the door a crack. While Seeders calls for backup, Thurman tries to get out of the car; Seeders tells him to get back in.
Thurman turns the car back on. The other side of the car isn’t visible in the footage but, according to Kentucky State Police Sgt. Billy Gregory, a woman got out of the passenger side. Seeders quickly approaches the back of the car, yelling “stop” repeatedly, as Thurman begins to back the car up. He strikes Seeders with the car, and Seeders fired at least five shots, fatally wounding Thurman.
This is the first police shooting since Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced that KSP would handle police shootings on behalf of LMPD in July. It has long been LMPD practice to release the identity of the officer and excerpted body camera footage within 24 hours of a police shooting.
But KSP has reiterated several times that it plans to handle these investigations according to its policies, not LMPD’s.
“To protect the integrity of KSP investigations, it is KSP policy not to release specific details of an investigation including video footage until vital witnesses and officers involved have been interviewed and pertinent facts gathered,” Gregory said. “Our agency is committed to being transparent, while also ensuring the integrity of every investigation.”
The officer wasn’t named in the video statement KSP released, but LMPD released his name and photo shortly after.
In October, KSP and LMPD signed an agreement that gave LMPD discretion to release body camera footage and officer information when it chose to. But KSP later revoked that agreement, and a new one has not yet been signed.
