LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Yoel Roberto Napoles-Ravelo died after police shot him outside his family's Valley Station home last Thursday. The 32-year-old man's father said the police narrative of what happened is wrong.
"He was not holding a knife, nor did he pose any genuine threat to any of the officers on the scene at the time he was shot," lawyer Mike Cooper wrote in a letter on the father's behalf to Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.
Cooper also asked Greenberg for an independent investigation into the shooting.
Three LMPD officers—Garret Schmeltz, Kendrick Eaves and Matthew J Forbes—fired their guns at Napoles-Ravelo that night, according to an LMPD spokesperson.
It's still unclear if those gunshots came after officers tried less-lethal options like a foam baton and taser.
"When officers arrived, they encountered a male who was agitated inside the house with several other family members inside the home," Interim Chief Paul Humphrey explained after the shooting. "The family members were able to exit the home safely, and officers began a verbal dialogue attempting to de-escalate the subject."
During the de-escalation attempt, Humphrey said Napoles-Ravelo picked up a knife, left the house, "and began to advance towards officers with knife in-hand."
Last week, neighbors told WHAS11 the shooting rattled the neighborhood.
"It's hurtful to know that somebody lost their life," Latonya Kirkpatrick said, "but you got to understand, these police, they've got a life, a family, a job. They've got stuff to come to, they don't know what they're coming in to."
The actions of police will become more clear with the release of body-camera footage of the shooting. Per LMPD procedure, that's due next Thursday, August 8.
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