At a time when President Trump is criticizing the nation’s mayors and governors for not being tough enough against rioters that are causing damage in large cities that are seeing social injustice protests, Governor Andy Beshear said Tuesday the state will reduce National Guard presence in Louisville.
Beshear said the reductions comes at the recommendation of the Adjutant General.
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The reduction comes two days after David McAtee, an African-American resident of Louisville, was shot when Louisville Police and the National Guard responded to an area to enforce a city-wide curfew. Witnesses have told Louisville media outlets that the crowd had nothing to do with the protests.Louisville Police said Tuesday video shows McAtee fired at least one shot before he was shot once and died. Beshear did not reaffirm what Louisville Police said the video showed, only saying he supports the release of any footage that will shed light on McAtee’s death.
click to download audioBeshear said Kentucky State Police will be handling the investigation into McAtee’s death. Executive Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown said there were 13 other people with McAtee at the time. Law enforcement recovered seven weapons from the residence where McAtee was and they are undergoing testing to see which ones were fired.
Louisville Police who responded to the scene did not have their body cameras turned on when the shooting occurred, which was a violation of department policy. Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher in turn, fired Police Chief Steve Conrad Tuesday. However, Beshear, who is a Democrat, stopped short of calling for the resignation of Fisher, who is also a Democrat, despite a public outcry in Louisville calling for Fisher to step down.
click to download audioBeshear also dismissed President Trump’s call for states to do more to strike down protests that turn violent or else he would send in the military to deal with them.
click to download audioLouisville has seen protests last for nearly a week over the March death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot in her bedroom when Louisville Police served a no-knock narcotics warrant in March. No charges have been brought against police who admitted they did not find any drugs in the home.
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