Former Louisville police officer faces federal charge after firing pepper balls
A former Louisville police officer has been federally indicted after she shot at someone with a pepper ball gun during protests in Louisville in 2020, according to the Department of Justice and multiple media reports.
Katie Crews, 29, of Jeffersonville, In., is accused of firing pepper balls at an individual who was standing on private property and not posing a threat to others on June 1, 2020, the Department of Justice said. Crews no longer works for the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Crews’ victim was only identified as “M.M.” in the indictment, but the Jefferson County commonwealth’s attorney said in a statement that Crews shot pepper balls in the direction of Machell McAtee, the niece of David McAtee.
David McAtee was the Louisville restaurant owner who was killed in a shooting with police and the Kentucky National Guard that same night at his restaurant, according to multiple media reports.
Crews is charged with deprivation of rights under the color of law. She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if she’s convicted, according to the Department of Justice.
Crews was one of many law enforcement officers who responded to the area near McAtee’s restaurant for reports of a crowd that had gathered after curfew, according to multiple media reports. Mayor Greg Fischer had enacted a 9 p.m. curfew in Louisville at the time after two days of protests and civil unrest.
Those protests were sparked after Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville police.
Investigators determined that McAtee fired at officers with a 9 mm handgun before police and the National Guard returned fire, striking McAtee once in the chest and killing him, according to a statement from Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas Wine.
Crews later admitted to shooting pepper balls at McAtee’s niece, the Courier-Journal reported.
