LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Friends and family gathered to remember Ki’Anthony Tyus on what would have been his 15th birthday.
He was only 9-years-old when he was shot in a drive-by shooting while playing basketball and turned that incident into advocacy against gun violence in the community.
Four years later, on Dec. 22, 2018, as a passenger in what police say was a stolen vehicle, Ki'Anthony died as a result of a high speed chase between the driver and Metro Police officers.
"We know his death could have been prevented and he would still be here living his dreams," Josephine Buckner, a family representative said.
The family hired a lawyer to sue Metro Police in a wrongful death lawsuit.
“Right now, the case is kind of in a holding pattern. We’re waiting on the court to give us dates so we just continue to work on the case on a day like this,” Buckner said. “We’re just taking a moment to celebrate Ki’Anthony.”
Sam Aguiar, the family’s attorney, released a statement Saturday.
“The numbers across the country prove that chases are dangerous, deadly and carry an unnecessary risk of danger and death to the public and to officers. Let's face it; chases either end in crashes or the vehicle get away.
When LMPD officers made the decision to chase a vehicle full of teenagers at 115 miles per hour on Fern Valley Road, they knew nothing good would come out of it.
And as a result, we lost Ki'Anthony, a child who'd become a local hero who'd devoted four years to being there for other gunshot victims ever since he'd been shot and survived at nine years old.
This is another example of a life lost when police officers choose to ignore clear cut policies which were put in place to prevent these types of tragedies.”
Celebrating his life, his family remembers the special little boy they lost.
"We miss him and we celebrate his life because he was an activist, you know. He would be out there with the protesters and I'd be telling him, 'boy, stay in the house,'" his grandmother Tina Tyus said. "He played basketball, he played football -- he played all the sports and just so you know, he loved the Boys and Girls Club and out in the neighborhood, the called him the hardest working little boy in the neighborhood.
Aguiar said they have been with the family every step of the way and will continue providing their services and counseling until justice is served.
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