In the spring of 2019, a 30-year-old Black man named DJuantez Anthony Mitchell was fatally shot by a Louisville Metro Police Department officer. The incident occurred on May 15, 2019, in Jeffersontown, a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. At the time, Mitchell was a suspect in a series of violent robberies that had taken place in the area. Plainclothes officers in unmarked vehicles were conducting surveillance on a white Kia that they believed was connected to the crimes and was being driven by
Mitchell.
According to the police account, officers surrounded Mitchell's vehicle to make an investigative stop near the intersection of Watterson Trail and Ruckriegel Parkway. As officers exited their vehicles, police stated that Mitchell accelerated his car, striking Officer Bryan Arnold and endangering other officers who were on foot. In response, Officer Arnold, a 22-year veteran of the department, fired his weapon multiple times into Mitchell's car. Mitchell's vehicle then collided with a police cruiser. No other officers fired their weapons, and no firearm was found in Mitchell's vehicle. After being pulled from his car by officers who administered first aid, Mitchell was transported to the University of Louisville Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The family of DJuantez Anthony Mitchell has disputed the official narrative and filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2020 against the Louisville Metro Police Department. Their attorney has stated that Mitchell was on the phone and attempting to comply with the officers' demands when he was shot. The lawsuit alleges that Officer Arnold was not properly trained and that the LMPD's version of events is inaccurate, claiming Mitchell was shot before the car moved forward. The case is complicated by the fact that the robbery unit officers were not wearing body cameras, and their vehicles were not equipped with dashcams. However, a home security video captured the moments surrounding the incident. Following the shooting, Officer Bryan Arnold was placed on administrative reassignment pending an investigation by the department's Public Integrity Unit.
