Newly released LMPD body cam footage shows what led to 17-year-old suspect being fatally shot

Louisville Metro Police released two body cam videos Friday morning regarding two separate police shootings in May.

You will able to watch the release live in the player above. The live video will be stopped before the actual video itself is shown in case of any sensitive or graphic content.

The first video released was in regards to 43-year-old Nicholas Pierce who died at the hospital May 13 after being shot by police in Pleasure Ridge Park back on May 10.

That video can be viewed in its entirety in the link below

**Graphic content warning: Viewers may find what is in this video shared by police to be disturbing**

Pleasure Ridge Park shooting body cam video

That was two days after LMPD officers said they shot him when he came at them with a knife in the 4700 block of Crawford Avenue.

The video shows officers shouting several commands to Pierce to drop the "military-grade" knife he was carrying.

He then charges at the officers with the knife.

They can be seen using a taser on him. Pierce gets back up after the stun gun runs through its five-second cycle and charges at them again. That is when they can be seen firing shots at him, striking him several times.

The LMPD spokesperson said tasers are not always 100% effective and that Pierce closed the reactionary gap quickly.

He said the forced used was justified and that Pierce was a "deadly threat to our officers."

He still holds onto the knife even after being shot with officers shouting at him to let go of the knife so that they can approach him and perform life-saving measures.

After the officers get the knife away from them, they can be seen trying to help Pierce with his injuries, one officer the spokesperson noted, even cradling Pierces head in his hands.

An LMPD spokesperson said Pierce seemed to show great resistance being tased and left officers uncertain if they would be able to stop him from being a threat to their lives.

All three officers fired shots, and all three are on administrative leave while LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit is continuing its investigation.

The second video to be released regards the 17-year-old homicide suspect shot on May 14 by LMPD who died a little over a week later.

That incident happened in the area of South Third and West Kenton streets.

The LMPD spokesperson said officers waiting for the homicide suspect, a 17-year-old boy, to leave the store they found him in so as to not involve any crowd.

In the video, the suspect can be seen running away from LMPD officers as they shout commands at him to stop.

He can be seen with a gun in his hand as he continues to flee.

The officers manage to catch him and get him to the ground, and they can be heard telling him several times to let go of the gun which he is holding pinned between his legs.

After several commands and attempts to get the gun away, two gunshots can be heard one right after the other.

The LMPD spokesperson said the first shot was the suspect firing his gun in the direction of a K9 unit and its handling officer.

They said the second shot was Det. Benjamin Derby firing a single shot at the suspect which "de-escalated the deadly force encounter."

The officers can then be seen giving first aid until emergency medical services can arrive.

The spokesperson said "there could have been injuries to officers or citizens on this busy street."

He said the gun recovered from the suspect was the one used in the homicide for which they were there to arrest him.

The investigation will determine if the use of deadly force was justified, but the spokesperson said the suspect "was not going to let that gun go" and that they did not know if a taser would have been effective under the circumstances.

Det. Derby can be heard telling another officer to move over in case he needs to shoot.

He said he wasn't sure if a language barrier was an issue and that would be determined as part of the ongoing investigation.

Det. Derby has been placed on administrative leave while the LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit is continuing its investigation.

That video can be viewed in its entirety in the link below