Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Paul Humphrey said, based on information they have now, he would not have issued a citation for unlawful camping against a homeless pregnant woman in Louisville after she told the officer she was in labor.
“Looking back on it — hindsight 20-20 — I think everybody would agree that it should be done differently,” Humphrey said during an interview with WAVE 3 News.
Kentucky Public Radio first published the footage three weeks ago. Humphrey’s remarks are the first time LMPD has acknowledged an error. Their previous statements have said that the officer, Lt. Caleb Stewart, was correct to call an ambulance for the woman and that she had been previously offered assistance. Both of those offers were from months before the September incident.
Humphrey said that he supports “those officers that are going out there and making those decisions.” He said that there have been many complaints about homeless individuals in Louisville’s downtown and they are looking for the “sweet spot” of dealing with them. There is no indication that anyone complained about the pregnant woman who was cited — Stewart approached her while she was standing next to a bare mattress deep beneath an overpass.
“We get lied to every day, right? So, you know, Lt. Stewart's reasoning was he felt like she was using a medical condition to get out of enforcement action,” Humphrey said in the TV interview. “It shows after the fact that she wasn't, right? So that's an error that was made based on sound reasoning. It just happened to be wrong. These things happen.”
The woman gave birth later the same day after she was issued a citation for unlawfully camping outside. She has since found housing, her attorney says, without the assistance of police or the courts.
In response to a request for comment, an LMPD spokesperson said Stewart “remains on full duty” and faces no disciplinary action. The department did not say whether they intend to change any of their policies around enforcing the street camping ban.
Unlawful camping became illegal across Kentucky thanks to a law passed by the General Assembly last year. Sleeping, intending to sleep, or using camping equipment like blankets on public property now results in a citation on first offense and misdemeanor on subsequent offenses.
Dozens of Louisvillians have been charged. Many have had bench warrants issued against them for failing to appear on their court date.
Homelessness has been on the rise in Louisville for years. A Coalition for the Homeless point-in-time survey conducted last year found another 10.5% increase over 2023. That’s 1,728 people who were experiencing homelessness during just that one week last January.
NEW: @LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey tells WAVE that writing a citation for a homeless woman in labor was a mistake, saying 'an error was made.' It marks the first time LMPD has acknowledged this since the video of the woman getting cited for street camping went viral. @wave3news pic.twitter.com/vjR2D6zTHD
— Ward Jolles (@wardjolles) January 9, 2025
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has not gone so far as to admit any fault in how LMPD responded to the pregnant homeless woman. He said he knows the body camera footage “looks bad,” but says it doesn't show the whole story.
“What you don't see are the thousands of hours that dedicated public servants are doing every day on the streets of Louisville to provide services and shelter to individuals in need,” Greenberg said.
He has also pointed to the Community Care Campus that will provide services and transitional housing that the city hopes to complete by the end of 2027.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
