Lexington police identify officer and suspect in officer-involved shooting
Lexington police have released the names of the officer and the suspect involved in an officer-involved shooting early Friday.
Police said the officer, identified Saturday as Miller Owens, shot Darion D. Worfolk, 26, after he refused to drop a gun. Worfolk’s injuries were not life-threatening.
Worfolk is in stable condition in the hospital and will be transported to the Fayette County Detention Center when he is released, police said in a news release Saturday morning.
Police said Owens has been employed by the police department since March 2017.
Kentucky State Police, who are investigating the shooting, said the Lexington police responded to a call about a man with a gun who was standing in the road near Fifth and Chestnut streets at about 1:40 a.m.
State police said the officer told the man several times to drop the weapon, but the man tried to run, and there was a “brief foot pursuit.”
The officer fired shots at the man, and he was hit in the front hip, Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said Friday.
He said officers called for emergency care and rendered aid until an ambulance arrived.
Based on initial information, Weathers said Friday that it appears the officer followed police department protocol, but an internal investigation will determine that.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman James Brown, who represents the East Side, called for police to immediately release the body camera footage of the incident.
The Lexington police said their Public Integrity Unit will also conduct an internal review.
Police have said Worfolk will be charged with second-degree fleeing and evading, felon in possession of a firearm, menacing, and first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.
This story was originally published August 1, 2020 at 1:08 PM.
