LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Video released by Louisville Metro Police shows a homeless woman being cited for unlawful street camping while seemingly in labor. Louisville Public Media was the first to report the incident, which was met with criticism from the public.
Body worn camera video from an LMPD officer back in September shows the moments a woman in distress is approached by Lt. Caleb Stewart under an I-65 underpass in Louisville. The woman tells Stewart she thinks she’s going into labor.
“I’m leaking water, all of my embryotic fluid, I’m leaking out,” the woman can be heard telling the officer.
As the woman heads toward the street, Stewart tells her to stop and that she’s being detained for unlawful camping.
“Am I being detained?”
“Yes, you’re being detained.”
“For what?”
“You’re being detained because you’re unlawfully camping.”
In July, the Safer Kentucky Act became law making street camping a crime. Catherine McGeeney, communications director for the Coalition for the Homeless, said this is a direct result of Kentucky law.
“What this woman deserved and what she needed was trauma-informed care, she needed compassion, she needed to have trust with someone, she needed de-escalation,” McGeeney said.
Video of the incident, which was just released after an open records request from Louisville Public Media, shows the LMPD officer discredit the woman’s claims of being in labor and her being written and handed a citation. Eventually, EMS arrived, and she was taken to the hospital.
McGeeney said it’s an “appalling” interaction.
“I can’t imagine treated like I was breaking a law while in active labor, disbelieved for that,” McGeeney said.
LMPD declined an interview but sent Spectrum News 1 a statement that read:
“We take any situation involving vulnerable individuals, including those experiencing a medical emergency, very seriously. No one wants to see a pregnant woman living in such deplorable conditions. On two previous occasions, members of The Safe and Healthy Streets Initiative offered the woman resources for shelter, which she had declined. The Safe and Healthy Streets Initiative within the Louisville Metro includes members of the Homeless Services Division, Solid Waste Management, and LMPD. Members of this group respond together to conduct cleanings of encampments, offer services to individuals, and issue citations for violations multiple times each week. Without the officer’s intervention and call for EMS, it is possible the baby would have been born without medical care. We hope she and her baby are able to receive the care and resources they need going forward.”
The statement continued and added, “We support our officers in using discretion and the information available to them at the time in making decisions. We also understand everyone may not agree with those decisions, but we are committed to being transparent in communicating and explaining processes and policy to the community.”
McGeeney said the video shows what happens when interactions with unhoused people are focused on enforcing a law rather than being compassionate.
“The people who are interacting with the unhoused need to be people who have built relationships with them, who they know each other’s names and whose job is not to escalate or enforce a law but to see a person and meet a need,” McGeeney said.
Louisville Public Media reported the woman later gave birth to her child later that day.
A spokesperson for Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, sent a statement.
“We are thankful LMPD called an ambulance, and the baby was born in a hospital with medical care. This is why our homeless services staff work hard to offer support and shelter to those in need. Unfortunately, there are people living on our streets who turn down these offers of help, even though they desperately need them.”