Louisville Police released bodycam video Wednesday showing the September 7th shooting of Officer Brandon Haley. He took a round in the lower chest after he came under fire from a residence near a traffic stop.
Police believe occupants of the house which was chock full of guns and illegal drugs opened fire on the officer in an attempted ambush.
A second officer, Colin Billotto, arrived seconds later and was also fired upon. Showing exceptional courage and bravery under fire, Officer Billotto returned fire before dragging Haley to safety.
Realizing their precarious proximity to the would-be cop killers who were shooting at them, Billotto dragged his fellow cop half a block before initiating first aid. By that time Haley was in shock.
The video is fairly graphic and not safe for work, but it’s well worth watching as it shows remarkable courage under fire.
From WDRB:
Body camera video released Wednesday shows Louisville Metro Police Officer Brandon Haley as he was shot in the Chickasaw neighborhood two weeks ago.
Haley was shot in the abdomen and critically wounded Sept. 7 at 38th and West Kentucky streets. LMPD said Haley was attempting to catch up to a car that didn’t have lights on. He got out of his car and radioed back that two subjects were running from the scene. As he ran toward their car, the body camera footage shows Haley stumble to the ground as more than 15 shots ring out.
The shots came from a nearby house, LMPD Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said in a news conference Wednesday…
The other officer on the scene with Haley was Officer Colin Billotto. He caught up to Haley in a yard and checked on him as more shots rang out. Billotto returned fire while trying to get Haley to safety…
That’s an understatement. Officer Billotto dragged Haley — at great personal risk to himself while under heavy gunfire — about half a block to get them both out of the line of fire and to give them some distance in case the suspect decided to advance and engage again.
It took the better part of five minutes for responding officers to arrive and they quickly identified the house they believe the shots originated. After a long stand-off with the occupants they made some arrests.
Five people — Dominique Thompson, Jemond Groves, Quantez Porter, Jacquan Ransom and Demarco Coney Jr. — have been arrested in connection Haley’s shooting, but none of them have been charged with pulling the trigger.
After the shooting, police were involved in a standoff at the house that continued for several hours.
According to court documents, police eventually executed a search warrant at the home. Police allegedly found suspected heroin, crystal methamphetamine, a white powdery substance suspected to be fentanyl or cocaine, ecstasy, Xanax and assorted drug paraphernalia. Additionally, police said they found nine firearms, including four handguns and five rifles, two of which were stolen.
We send our best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for Officer Haley. The good news is that he’s doing better. Unfortunately he’s still in the hospital.
Hopefully authorities will be able to identify the would-be cop killers and bring them to justice.
