Shooting of David McAtee

On June 1, 2020, David McAtee, an African-American man, was fatally shot by the Kentucky National Guard in Louisville during protests over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.[1]

Shooting of David McAtee
Part of George Floyd protests
DateJune 1, 2020 (2020-06-01)
LocationLouisville, Kentucky
Coordinates38.2527°N 85.7585°W / 38.2527; -85.7585
TypeShooting
DeathsDavid McAtee

The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) and National Guard were in the area to enforce a curfew. According to officials, the police and soldiers were fired upon by McAtee, and two Louisville officers and two National Guardsmen returned fire. McAtee was killed by a shot fired from a guardsman. The body cams of the police involved were deactivated during the shooting, in violation of department policy.[2] Hours later, police chief Steve Conrad was fired by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.[2][3]

Biography

David McAtee was the youngest child of Odessa Riley and James McAtee, and had eight siblings. He owned and operated YaYa’s BBQ Shack, a popular barbeque restaurant in Louisville's predominantly black West End neighborhood,[4] a food desert, and was a "beloved fixture" of his community. He had a reputation for generosity, including serving food at no cost in his restaurant to police officers and members of his community who were struggling financially.[5][2] Having de-escalated potentially violent situations on multiple occasions, he was also known as a calming presence in his neighborhood.[6] He adopted the name YaYa after becoming a Rastafarian around 2010.[5]

Incident

In the context of a 9 p.m. curfew related to protests concerning the recent violent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the LMPD and National Guard were attempting to disperse a crowd of people in and around the parking lot of Dino's Food Mart, a popular social gathering spot at a gas station across the street from McAtee's restaurant.[4][6][7]

Witnesses in the crowd said the gathering was independent of the protests and was instead part of a weekly neighborhood social occasion at which McAtee served food. They allege that soldiers and police, in their effort to enforce the curfew, had boxed the crowd into the area thus causing a panic, which resulted in people running towards the restaurant.[8] According to an LMPD statement, someone in the crowd opened fire at the armed officers and soldiers, who returned fire. A bullet shot by a National Guard soldier struck McAtee in the chest,[9][10][11] killing him at the scene at about 12:15 a.m.[12]

Following the shooting, hundreds of people stood near the restaurant, and McAtee's body remained lying at the scene for 12–14 hours while police investigated.[5][13] After the coroner removed the body and the police departed, president of the Louisville affiliate of the National Urban League Sadiqa Reynolds recruited a local gospel singer to sing "Amazing Grace".[5]

Investigation

On June 1, Governor Andy Beshear ordered Kentucky State Police to investigate the shooting via a joint effort with the FBI Louisville Field Office and the U.S. Attorney Office for the Western District of Kentucky.[6] On June 2, acting LMPD police chief Schroeder said that security camera footage showed McAtee firing a gun as officers approached his business while clearing out a nearby parking lot.[14][15] According to Schroeder, questions remained, "including why did he fire and where were police at the time he fired?"[14]

On June 4, videographic analysis by The New York Times' visual investigations unit of surveillance and bystander videos from four separate angles reconstructed a synchronized chronology of the sequence of events leading to McAtee's death.[4] This analysis concluded that police first fired at least two pepper balls from outside McAtee's restaurant toward his relatives and him, in violation of LMPD policy requiring pepper balls be shot into the ground during crowd dispersal operations, and that "law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force" when trying to disperse non-violent crowds.[4][16] One shot hit and pierced a bottle on an outdoor table, knocking it to the ground, and the other struck the doorway, almost hitting McAtee's niece in the head. At the time, the pepper ball shots may not have been distinguishable from other ammunition.[4] In response, McAtee grabbed his gun and appears to have fired.[4] The Guardian wrote that the video shows that McAtee "raises his arm in the air", which is "a motion consistent with firing a warning shot".[17]

On June 9, the governor's office said that lab tests from the case concluded that McAtee was killed from a single gunshot by a National Guard soldier.[11] In total, two officers and two guardsmen fired at least 19 shots in McAtee's direction.[11][12] McAtee was determined to have fired twice with a 9 mm pistol.[11] According to officials, McAtee's shots prompted law enforcement's return fire, which killed him.[11][18] The identities of the soldiers involved in the shooting have not been released.[19]

Aftermath

Mayor Greg Fischer fired LMPD Chief Steve Conrad after learning that officers involved in the shooting of McAtee did not have their body cameras turned on.[20] Deputy Chief Robert Schroeder was placed in charge of the department as the interim police chief and declared that the officers' decision to not use their body cameras was a "clear failure to (follow) our policy" and was "completely unacceptable."[6][20]

Many residents and protesters raised concerns about why so many officers and troops were at the location, as the most significant protest that night was roughly 20 blocks away. They have also stated that the group wasn't protesting but were, instead, customers of the store and BBQ cart.[6] Others have raised questions about why rubber bullets had been used in the Highlands but real bullets in the West End.[8]

One of the officers involved in the shooting, Officer Katie Crews, became the subject of a professional standards investigation on June 2 after she posted a photo of a protester offering her flowers during a protest on May 28. The photo depicts Crews standing in a police line with other officers, while a white female protester holds flowers near Crews' chest. Crews captioned the photo with "I hope the pepper balls that she got lit up with a little later on hurt" and claimed that the protester was attempting to elicit a reaction from her with taunts and finished the caption with "Come back and get ya some more old girl, I'll be on the line again tonight."[21]

Reactions

Metro Council President David James described himself as a close personal friend of McAtee and described him as a good man who loved his neighborhood and city.[9] McAtee's mother told reporters that he was known by the policemen and the community, and that he had fed all the policemen and would join them for discussions while they ate.[8]

See also

References
  1. Evan McMorris-Santoro; Kevin Brunelli; Theresa Waldrop. "Louisville fires its police chief over handling of fatal shooting during protest". CNN. Retrieved June 2, 2020. The police chief of Louisville, Kentucky, has been fired after officials discovered two police officers involved in fatal shooting of a man during a protest over George Floyd's death had not activated their body cameras.; Green, Marcus (June 1, 2020). "Beshear urges swift release of videos showing fatal police/National Guard shooting of Louisville man". WDRB. Retrieved June 3, 2020. The shooting came amid the fourth day of protests over the police killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician and former EMT.
  2. Schreiner, Bruce; Tulp, Sophia (June 1, 2020). "Protests, Louisville police chief fired after fatal shooting". AP. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  3. Lampen, Claire (June 2, 2020). "Everything We Know About the Police Shooting of David McAtee". The Cut. Retrieved June 2, 2020.; "Louisville police chief fired after fatal shooting of David McAtee". ABC News. Retrieved June 2, 2020.; Ray Sanchez; Evan McMorris-Santoro. "Louisville BBQ man who was fatally shot when police dispersed crowd used to feed officers for free". CNN. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  4. Mazzei, Patricia (June 4, 2020). "A Popular Louisville Restaurant Owner Was Killed by the Police. What Happened?". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  5. Elie, Lolis Eric (June 5, 2020). "Louisville Barbecue Owner Killed in Police Shooting Fed a Food Desert". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  6. Kobin, Billy; Kachmar, Kala (June 1, 2020). "Investigation launched into LMPD, National Guard fatal shooting of West End business owner". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  7. "Louisville "BBQ Man" used to feed police for free. He was shot and killed during the protests while cooking for people in his neighborhood". CBS News. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  8. "Family members say David McAtee died trying to protect his niece". KNOE. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  9. Bailey, Phillip M.; Costello, Darcy (June 1, 2020). "'My son didn't hurt nobody': David McAtee, Louisville business owner, killed by authorities". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  10. Otts, Chris. "Police say video shows David McAtee firing shots before being hit in west Louisville shooting". WDRB. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  11. Acquisto, Alex (June 9, 2020). "Beshear aide: National Guard fired shot that killed Louisville restaurant owner". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  12. Ladd, Sarah (August 3, 2020). "State investigation into shooting of David 'YaYa' McAtee 'substantially complete'". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  13. Linthicum, Kate (June 8, 2020). "Louisville demanded justice after police fatally shot Breonna Taylor. Instead, it lost another black life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  14. Schreiner, Bruce; Reynolds Yonker, Rebecca (June 2, 2020). "Police: Video shows BBQ restaurant owner who was killed in Louisville had fired a gun". KGO-TV. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  15. "Louisville Police Releases Video It Says Shows David McAtee Firing At Officers". NPR. June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.; "A restaurant owner, a football star: the people killed as protests spread". The Guardian. Associated Press. June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  16. Fischer, Greg; Conrad, Steve (July 27, 2015). "Review of our current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding the use of force" (PDF). Louisville Metro Police Department. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  17. Wood, Josh (June 5, 2020). "'I cannot stand it': family of Louisville man shot dead by police speak out". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. Green, Marcus (June 9, 2020). "David McAtee killed by Kentucky National Guard bullet, Beshear official says". WDRB.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  19. Kachmar, Kala. "Who killed Louisville businessman David McAtee? What newly released evidence shows". The Courier-Journal.
  20. Costello, Darcy (June 1, 2020). "Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad fired after David McAtee shooting, city unrest". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  21. Tobin, Ben (June 2, 2020). "Louisville cop in fatal shooting of David McAtee had mocked protester on Facebook". USA Today. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
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