Judge keeps murder charge, $1 million bond for man accused of killing Kentucky officer
A judge on Tuesday declined to reduce the $1 million bond for a Tennessee man charged with hitting and killing a London police officer while driving drunk last month.
Laurel District Judge John Paul Chappell also ruled there was probable cause to support the murder charge against Casey Byrd.
That means a grand jury will now consider the case against Byrd and decide whether to indict him.
Byrd, 37, of Oneida, Tenn., is charged with murder and drunken driving in the Oct. 30 death of officer Logan Medlock.
Byrd allegedly hit Medlock’s police vehicle in the driver’s side at an intersection near downtown London while Medlock was on patrol.
Steve Walker, a trooper with Kentucky State Police, testified at a hearing for Byrd Tuesday that a blood test showed Byrd’s blood-alcohol level was 0.293 and a breath test showed it was 0.294.
The limit at which someone is presumed drunk in Kentucky is 0.08, so Byrd’s level was well over three times that.
Walker testified tire marks indicated Byrd attempted to brake before the crash, including marks for 210 feet on the sidewalk beside the street. the collision pushed Medlock’s cruiser into a cemetery, police said.
The last speed recorded in the electronic system of Byrd’s truck before the crash was 51 miles per hour, Walker testified.
Byrd told police he had been watching the football game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at a friend’s house before the crash.
“He said that he should have just stayed there,” police write in an arrest citation.
Intentional murder of a police officer is a crime eligible for the death penalty in Kentucky.
However, Jeremy Bartley, an attorney who represents Byrd along with his wife, Kerri Bartley, said there is nothing to indicate Byrd acted intentionally when he allegedly hit Medlock.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele confirmed that the death penalty will not apply in this case.
Byrd once taught pharmacy technician classes but has worked at a federal prison in McCreary County for about three years.
Kerri Byrd asked Chappell to reduce Byrd’s bond to $100,000 and require home incarceration, noting he has three daughters to support and is not a risk to flee.
The defense attorneys said that as a corrections officer, Byrd has great respect for law enforcement.
Steele argued to keep the bond at $1 million, pointing to the the devastating impact of Medlock’s death.
“She’s got a son who will never see his father again,” Steele said of the officer’s widow.
Chappell declined to reduce the bond. He noted that Byrd was charged with public intoxication in Tennessee a month before the crash in London, and said he could be a danger to himself or others if released.
Chappell also said that while there may be mitigating factors, it’s not in doubt that Byrd hit Medlock.
“This isn’t a whodunnit,” the judge said.
