LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Weeks after a Louisville Metro Police officer was shot in the Chickasaw neighborhood, body camera video of the incident has been released.
WARNING: Details and video in this article may be disturbing for some. Viewer discretion is advised.
Officer Brandon Haley continues to recover day-by-day. On Wednesday, LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said Haley's condition continues to improve and he is no longer in critical condition.
Haley was shot in the chest in the 4000 block of West Kentucky Street around 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 7.
Newly-released body camera video shows Haley see a white car that didn’t have its lights on near 40th Street and West Kentucky. It's unclear exactly why Haley was following the vehicle, as LMPD Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey notes Haley didn't pull the car over, the driver stopped on their own.
"Due to the fact that Officer Haley is in the condition that's he's in and unable to speak, we were not able to get that information as far as why he may have been looking at that car prior to this incident," he added.
After the vehicle stops, he said Haley radioed to dispatch that two people were seen running away from the vehicle and began chasing after them. As he made his way toward the two men, gunshots can be heard coming from a house and Haley immediately falls to the ground. He screams out that he’s been hit.
The video then shows him pick himself up and run across the street before falling into another yard.
Body camera video from LMPD Officer Colin Billotto shows him running up to Haley as more gunshots can be heard coming from the house toward the two officers.
Billotto, who is on his knees, then drags Haley for almost a block and into an alley with more cover and begins tending to the gunshot wound, according to Humphrey.
LMPD Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said the department is proud of the officers for their bravery and strength despite the danger surrounding them and their colleagues.
"For officer Billoto to do what he did going into gunfire after an officer has already been shot; the strength to drag an officer, a 200 pound man with gear, on for a half a block on his knees while being shot at, to be able to have the poise to communicate to other officers what they are responding to," he said. "You can see the chaos at that scene and how proud we are of their actions that night."
Haley’s dashcam video helped authorities pinpoint the exact location of where the shots were fired from.
While the injured officer was rushed to the hospital, an hours-long standoff began between LMPD and the people inside the home. Humphrey said police were eventually able to arrest five "persons of interest" in connection to the incident.
Five men inside the home were arrested after LMPD found a stash of guns and drugs at the residence.
Humphrey said the investigation remains ongoing at this time.
Anyone with any information regarding the shooting is urged to contact police through LMPD's anonymous crime tip line at 502-574-5673 (LMPD). Reports can also be made online.
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