Body camera footage released Friday shows a Louisville police officer shoot a 15-year-old boy armed with an AR-15 in an exchange of gunfire near Okolona.
According to LMPD Deputy Chief Ryan Bates, officers were called to the 3700 block of Cutler Road just before 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, on a report of domestic trouble involving a mother injured by her son.
While an officer was talking with the boy, Bates said officer Brian Thompson saw he was armed with a rifle. Police said the boy shot toward his mother and Thompson, forcing them to take cover. Thompson got the woman to safety and ordered the boy to drop the rifle, according to Bates.
Police said the 15-year-old shot the rifle again, and Thompson returned fire, hitting him several times. The boy was taken to the hospital where he went into surgery. At last check, LMPD said the boy was “likely to survive his injuries.” Police said Friday he was still in the hospital. No one else was injured.
During a news conference Friday morning, Bates said the initial 911 call came from the teen’s stepfather, who said his stepson assaulted his mother by hitting her several times. The stepfather was not at the scene when he made the call, Bates said, but later arrived as the situation unfolded.
The stepfather told the dispatcher he believed the only weapon available to the teen was a baseball bat.
Footage from Thompson’s body camera shows him arrive at the home and speak with the mother outside. She shows him her injuries and tells him her son threatened to kill her.
They step onto the front porch and approach the front door. Once on the front porch, the mother tells Thompson her son has a gun, but it wasn’t loaded. When Thompson opens the front door, he repeatedly tells the boy to drop the gun. Thompson asks the mother if her son has access to ammunition, and she said no.
They move off the porch and to the side of the house. She can be heard telling her son to put the gun down. As Thompson looks toward the front of the home, the teen fires a shot from the porch that hits the vehicle behind his mother. Police believe he intended to shoot his mother and missed.
Thompson and the mother take cover as the stepfather arrives on scene. Thompson tells them to get in their vehicle and leave for their safety.
Shortly after, the boy leaves the front porch and walks down the sidewalk with a rifle. Thompson repeatedly tells him to put the gun down before firing several shots, hitting the boy several times. Thompson then renders first aid.
Bates said a camera on the front porch captured a different angle of the shooting. It shows the boy exit the home armed with a rifle. In the background, the mother can be heard telling her son to put the gun down. The boy then fires the rifle in the direction of his mother and Thompson, hitting a vehicle in the driveway behind them.
The camera also captured the exchange of gunfire between the boy and Thompson after the mother and stepfather left the scene. Video shows the boy step off the porch with the rifle and walk down the sidewalk toward the driveway. The rifle is pointed in Thompson’s direction. A shot is fired as the boy backs up to the porch, and more gunfire is exchanged between the boy and Thompson, during which the boy is hit several times.
Police recovered the gun, an AR-15 Bates said the teen was able to get from inside the home
Bates said conflicting information from the stepfather about the bat being the only weapon in the home and the mother telling police the boy didn’t have access to ammunition “put the officer at a disadvantage and placed others in danger.”
“We are very fortunate that the mother, stepfather, neighbors or any officers were not shot,” Bates said.
Because the case involves a juvenile, he will not be identified.
Thompson, with LMPD’s Seventh Division, was later identified as the officer who shot the teen. Personnel records show he has a lengthy history of service commendations, but has also received complaints for prejudice and citizen stops from 2024, two of which were sustained. However, he was exonerated of “biased law enforcement practices.”
LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit is leading the criminal investigation, which will then be turned over to the Commonwealth’s Attorney for review. Copies will be given to Kentucky State Police for a peer review and the Louisville Office of Inspector General. LMPD’s Professional Standards Unit will investigate any possible policy violations. The LMPD Performance Review Board will also review the incident.
You can watch Friday’s news conference in the video player below. Viewer discretion is advised