LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville Metro Police officer is home after being shot at Shawnee Park Sunday night. LMPD has not released his name yet.
LMPD approached the man who they said was “known to have warrants.” The man, identified by police later as 30-year-old Herbert Lee, fired at the officer, hitting him once. The officer was wearing a protective vest and wasn’t seriously injured.
LMPD released new pictures of the officer’s vest that show damage to the vest and a shattered cell phone
Police said the shooting happened at around 8 p.m. Sunday at Shawnee Park where the annual Dirt Bowl was winding down.
Lee has a dozen warrants tied to his name that range from possession of a handgun by a convicted felon to tampering with evidence and more.
A lead dirt bowl organizer, Ravon Churchill, explained what he witnessed while he wrapped the event.
“So I didn’t know if it was fireworks you know, still being so close a week removed from the Fourth of July. I don’t know if it was fireworks, but that’s something that is not normal and the dirt bowl like we don’t hear fireworks or you know, gunshots, you know, at the Dirt Bowl and so that was alarming to me. You look over there. You see a lot of people running over there you like, ‘So what’s happening?’” Churchill said.
He said it happened quickly.
“It was unexpected. Some people went away, some people ran away and some people ran to it,” Churchill said.
But being a lead organizer for the Dirt Bowl, he clarifies that the shooting incident took place yards away in an adjacent field.
“It’s not indicative of the Dirt Bowl, and this didn’t happen on sacred Dirt Bowl grounds. We don’t play over there. We don’t go over there. We don’t use that, that field. This is sacred over here and this is a drama-free zone,” Churchill said.
LMPD said Lee fired a shot at approaching officers, shooting one in the vest. Then officers returned fire, shot Lee, and rendered aid until EMS arrived.
“I feel comfortable with LMPD being here. I wouldn’t be here if LMPD wasn’t here. Mayor (Greg) Fischer said that we can’t have the Dirt Bowl unless the LMPD is here,” Churchill said.
A large police presence was at the park in the minutes and hours after the shooting.
“And we had a stain on this yesterday, but we’re gonna use some bleach and we’re gonna get the stain washed out and we know people are going to remember it,” Churchill said. “People are going to talk about it. We’re gonna get past this stuff and we still gonna be the same web and since 1960.”
He hopes to continue with Dirt Bowl activities this weekend.
LMPD said investigators recovered a gun at the scene. The police department said KSP is handling the investigation.
LMPD said when Lee is released from the hospital he will face several charges that include the attempted murder of a police officer.