LMPD made the recordings publicly available Wednesday — within 10 business days of the shooting, as required by a new department policy.
LMPD Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel also provided an update on Officer Brandon Haley, who was shot that day and is recovering at University of Louisville Hospital.
“I am grateful to be able to share with you that Officer Haley’s condition is improving and he is no longer in critical condition,” she said during a news conference Wednesday.
Police officials say five people have been taken into custody in relation to the shooting. None of them have been charged specifically for the shooting, but they do face other charges. The charges vary from person to person, but court records show they include drug trafficking and gun-related offenses.
The recordings, along with new statements by police officials Wednesday, provide fresh details about the shooting.
LMPD Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said Wednesday that part of the footage was redacted “partially for sensitivity reasons but primarily to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”
LMPD released some initial information earlier this month, right after the shooting happened. At the time, the department said:
- An officer, later publicly identified as Haley, was conducting a traffic stop when someone fired shots from a house and struck him in the torso. He was in “critical, but stable” condition then.
- Another officer fired his gun while at the scene.
- LMPD sent a SWAT team and hostage negotiators. Late in the afternoon on Sept. 7, the department said its operations on-site were over and “several individuals of interest” were being questioned.
What the footage shows
Humphrey said Wednesday that at about 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 7, Haley was in a police car and working to catch up to a white vehicle without lights on that was about two blocks ahead of him.
The vehicle turned from West Kentucky Street onto South 40th Street and stopped on a sidewalk.
Humphrey said Haley reported two people were running from the vehicle. That isn’t visible on the footage, part of which is blurred out.
Humphrey said the blurring was used on “graphic” aspects of the recordings as well as to conceal some information in order to protect the investigation’s integrity.
The dashcam footage from Haley’s car and Haley’s body camera footage show him pull up near the stopped vehicle, get out and head across the street toward it.
Flashes of gunfire are visible to the left of Haley, and he falls and rolls on the ground. The footage is silent up until that point, but then the audio kicks in and gunshots are heard.
Humphrey said the shots came from a house just beyond the white vehicle. He also said Haley was hit “almost immediately” and fell, then returned fire.
In the video footage, Haley can be seen shooting his gun and then trying to get up before falling again as gunfire continues. He gets up again and radios for help. He makes it across the street before falling into a yard.
Officer Colin Billotto arrives on-scene as that happens and runs to Haley’s side. Shots ring out again, and footage from Billotto’s body camera shows him begin to drag Haley away from that part of the street.
Billotto stops dragging him for a few moments. Humphrey said Billotto fired his gun in response to the other gunfire, and the final two shots audible on the camera footage came from Billotto.
From that point, Haley and Billotto’s body cameras both show Billotto resume dragging the injured officer away from the area.
Humphrey said Billotto dragged Haley “almost an entire block to safety.”
Billotto is heard radioing for help as sirens sound in the distance. He provides first aid to Haley until more police arrive.
They put Haley in the backseat of another officer’s car, and Humphrey said they took him to the hospital.
After that, Humphrey said SWAT and hostage negotiators went to the scene of the shooting. The footage released Wednesday doesn’t cover that part of the incident.
There was a “long standoff,” after which Humphrey said five people were taken into custody and guns were recovered from the scene.
The investigation is ongoing.
Humphrey said Wednesday that police officials haven’t been able to speak to Haley yet because of his physical condition. As a result, they haven’t been able to learn why he “may have been looking at that car prior to this incident.”
He expressed pride in Haley’s police work and his bravery.
