‘This can’t keep happening.’ Family calls for justice in Nicholasville police shooting
On Sunday, Nicholasville resident Melissa Marks stood in the same spot on Green Street where the man she raised as her son was shot and killed nearly a month ago by a Nicholasville Police officer.
Surrounded by loved ones, they mourned Desman LaDuke, 22, who was killed by officer Joseph Horton on Saturday, Oct. 22, when the police department responded to LaDuke’s home in reference to a welfare check. State police said LaDuke was reported to be suicidal and had a firearm. Officers responded to the scene and requested that the Nicholasville Police Department Crisis Negotiation Team respond, as well as the Special Response Team.
Sunday afternoon, they took the the streets in downtown Nicholasville, marching with signs, chants and songs to call for more transparency, justice and accountability from both local and state police.
“This can’t keep happening,” Marks said. “You don’t answer a suicide call with a SWAT team. It makes no sense. ‘Stop trying to kill yourself or we will kill you,’ that just doesn’t make any sense and that can’t keep happening.”
Their specific demands include that the police immediately identify and suspend all officers involved, pending investigation and termination, release all body worn camera footage immediately, that the Department of Justice investigate Nicholasville police, and that the police implement a Community Crisis Response Team with mental health professionals for mental health calls.
“We really want to focus on mental health. In this community, it is overlooked quite a bit; not only being a man, but being a man of color,” LaDuke’s cousin, Kahnan Leslie said. “Mental health is overlooked extremely and I feel like that is one of those instances where he was not having the best day, he was not feeling the best in the head, and you point rifles at him. You are supposed to learn deescalation, and all you did was make that situation way worse.”
Sarah Williams, a racial justice advocate, said the Nicholasville Police Department did not follow their policies and protocol when they shot and killed LaDuke.
“We are here demanding they release any body camera footage in the incident,” Williams said. “We would also like for them to go ahead and release their policy and procedures that govern the Nicholasville police department and all sworn officers -- without us having to make an open records request for each individual policy.”
She said these records would potentially show how the department violated their own policy and what could have been done differently.
Williams said they had put in an open records request to the department for the policies and procedures, as well as the personnel file for Officer Horton.
“I would just hope that the Nicholasville Police Department would go ahead and prove that they are committed to some form of transparency and accountability and release the policies and procedures -- in its entirety -- that govern all of the sworn officers that are said to protect the community,” she said.
The march began at Clint Hayden Park in Nicholasville where individuals marched towards LaDuke’s home. Then, the group went through Maple Street and up to the Jessamine County Courthouse. Nearly 100 people showed up to show support for LaDuke and his family, and demand a call to action.
“It is such a hard time,” Marks said through tears. “I am grateful to have so many people to support us and there are so many people who loved him and he touched so many people’s lives. I am so glad to see it come together this way.”
Leslie said the turnout was a reflection of the type of person he was.
“He was accepting of everybody, and he loved everybody,” Leslie said. “He just wanted everyone to smile and laugh and that is truly who he was.”
