What happened before police shot, killed man in Lexington? Details remain sparse
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky State Police investigate officer-involved shootings and control release of details.
- Investigations involve interviews and evidence review and can take several months.
- Agency rarely releases bodycam video or final reports before investigations conclude.
It’s been several weeks since Lexington police officers shot and killed a North Carolina man during a traffic stop, but little information about the incident has been released.
And if past shootings by police are any indication, it will likely be a while longer before the Lexington Police Department or other investigators release more information.
Kentucky State Police is leading the investigation into the shooting, which happened Feb. 3 near Alumni Drive and Yellowstone Parkway. State police said three Lexington police officers opened fire on Brooks Plemmons, 40, of Clemmons, N.C., while attempting to pull over his vehicle. He was wanted on a domestic violence charge.
Lexington police said cops found a gun near Plemmons after the shooting, but they have not indicated if he tried to use it. They have released no information about what happened before officers opened fire, and the department has not identified the officers involved or said how many times they shot him.
Plemmons was taken to University of Kentucky Hospital with life-threatening injuries and died two days later, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
No officers were injured in the incident.
What happens in Kentucky when police shoot someone?
KSP’s Critical Incident Response Team investigates all shootings involving police in the commonwealth. But its probes can take several months to complete, and the agency rarely releases information before the investigation concludes.
Exceptions may include the status of those injured, the names of the officers involved and, eventually, any criminal charges filed.
State police released Plemmons’ identity one day after the shooting while he remained in critical condition in the hospital, but the agency did not provide an update when Plemmons died. Instead, that information was release by the coroner’s office.
When officers are identified, it usually happens later in the investigation.
For example, when three Lexington police officers opened fire on a mass shooting suspect in July 2023, the officers involved were publicly identified six days later. In another case where police fatally shot a man near Nicholasville Road in April 2024, it took state police almost two weeks to authorize the release the names of the three officers involved.
Nearly two years later, no additional information about the 2024 shooting has been released, and state police have not notified the public if the investigation is ongoing or has concluded.
The same is true in a case from September 2025 in which a man shot by police survived.
KSP has not released additional details about the shooting of Jaylin Clark, who was shot by a Lexington officer at an apartment complex off Lakeshore Drive while fleeing police who were responding to a call for an armed robbery. Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers previously said the officer returned fire after Clark fired one shot.
Clark was identified after the incident and charged with first-degree wanton endangerment — police officer, third-degree fleeing or evading, carjacking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to court records. His case is ongoing in Fayette Circuit Court, and state police have not shared any additional information about the shooting, including the name of the officer.
Records requests for information about police shootings, including body camera footage, are frequently denied, citing an open investigation. The public is not typically alerted when the investigation is complete, either.
While information is sparse, KSP’s procedures seem in line with other agencies, one expert told the Herald-Leader.
Anthony Finnell, the former president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, a nonprofit that advocates for police accountability and transparency, said KSP’s shooting investigations resemble how other departments handle such probes.
“Their setup isn’t unique, isn’t something that would be troubling to say ‘They’re hiding stuff,’” Finnell told the Herald-Leader. “They do have some room for improvement, as far as releasing information.”
Mandatory, periodic updates on open investigations could compromise criminal cases, Finnell said.
“It could change the final outcome,” Finnell said. “It could change whether you’re able to get charges filed or not if you were going to because, in an essence, you could be accused of tainting the process.”
Instead, Finnell said, there should be a public review of police shootings once an investigation concludes.
“That is a very highly reviewed and very highly sensitive incident within any community,” Finnell said. “The community has a right to know this is what the investigation showed, this is what happened, this is what it showed and this is how we reached our decision, and that should be done proactively.”
State police’s investigations include hours of interviews and evidence examination that culminate in a report that is often hundreds of pages. The reports normally require a records request to obtain.
Finnell said someone, whether it be state police, the law enforcement agency involved in a shooting, local prosecutors or the attorney general, should be responsible for notifying the public when an investigation is completed.
But that rarely happens in Kentucky.
“If they’re not doing that, then that’s concerning,” Finnell said. “I’m surprised an attorney has not pursued that in court and had a court make a decision on that.”
Finnell said it’s also the responsibility of the public to demand more transparency with law enforcement shooting investigations.
“If they want more transparency and they want more information, then they push their legislature to pass these laws that require the release of this information,” Finnell said.
State police said they are committed to transparency when investigating law enforcement shootings but won’t release additional details about the Feb. 3 shooting until, “vital witnesses have been interviewed and pertinent facts gathered.”
“Timelines for completing investigations vary depending on the complexity of the case,” state police said in a news release.
London police shooting
One particular police shooting in Kentucky has garnered significant calls for additional transparency.
Officials haven’t shared much information about the fatal shooting death of 63-year-old Doug Harless, which happened Dec. 23, 2024, at Harless’ home on Vanzant Road in Laurel County. Records indicate officers were attempting to serve a search warrant for a stolen weed eater that evening, but a mix-up in addresses led officers to Harless’ home at 511 Vanzant Road in Lily when they intended to search a different home about 250 feet away.
State police’s investigation was presented to a Laurel County grand jury, and on Feb. 20 it declined to indict anyone in the shooting. The grand jury considered charges of murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter and reckless homicide, but found no wrongdoing.
Several community members were frustrated by the grand jury’s decision. London Mayor Randall Weddle said the city and police department will conduct its own internal administrative review of the shooting to determine if officers’ actions complied with departmental policies and procedures.
