Louisville interim Police Chief Paul Humphrey said officers responded to an “unknown active trouble” call around 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the 6600 block of Eagle Wood Drive.
Humphrey said officers encountered an agitated man inside a home with his family. Officers began a dialogue. He said the man, whom he identified as Hispanic, left the home and approached officers with a knife. Police told the man to drop the knife but he didn’t, so they used Tasers before shooting him, Humphrey said. He said officers attempted to render aid.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
A spokesperson for LMPD declined to answer a question about whether there was a language barrier between police and the man, citing department policy regarding investigations of shootings by officers.
LMPD has not named the officers who were part of the incident.
“This is a distressing moment for both the officers as well as the family, however we are grateful that no one else was injured in this incident,” Humphrey said.
WDRB reports the man’s family members told a reporter the man called 911 seeking medical help because he believed he was having hallucinations.
Humphrey said LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit is investigating the event, and the department will release body camera footage within 10 business days, in line with protocol.
