Justice For Desman LaDuke

Mental Health Calls Should Never End in Police Murder

On Saturday, October 22nd, 2022, the family of 22 year old Desman LaDuke placed a mental health call to 911. Desman had no criminal background and was well loved by his community. However, he had struggled with the loss of his mother in a car accident and his brother to a drowning. Instead of receiving the mental health care that Desman needed, the Nicholasville Police Department responded with a militarized SWAT/ERT unit that pointed assault rifles from outside the home at Desman, the sole person inside his house. Family requested to attempt to de-escalate the situation by directly talking to Desman, but received threats of force by NPD. Despite no officers or bystanders being in harms way, NPD shot through Desman's bedroom window, hitting him in the chest. Officers proceeded to drag Desman across the ground through the bedroom, hallway, living room, and kitchen, leaving a trail of blood. With Desman dying, officers yelled at him to "show me your FUCKING hands". Four hours after Desman was taken to the hospital, he passed away.

After Desman was murdered, NPD released false narratives of the incident. Calls for transparency and accountability by the family have gone unheard. The community must not allow police to sweep this incident under the rug and we must take action to ensure that future mental health calls do not end in police murder. 

Demands:

• Immediately identify and suspend all officers involved, pending investigation and termination.

• Release all body worn camera footage immediately.

• The Kentucky State Police has recently used training materials that promote racist and nazi propaganda and are not in a position to fairly investigate. The Department of Justice needs to investigate NPD.

• Implement a Community Crisis Response Team with mental health professionals for mental health calls.

#JusticeForDesman