Grand jury declines to indict police officer who shot, killed Central Kentucky man

A Jessamine County grand jury has declined to indict an officer who shot and killed a 22-year-old Nicholasville man who was experiencing a mental health crisis in October 2022, attorneys confirmed to the Herald-Leader Thursday.

Desman LaDuke was shot and killed by Joseph Horton, an officer with the Nicholasville Police Department, after police were called to LaDuke’s home for a welfare check. The grand jury’s decision not to indict was “confusing” and “unfortunate,” said Sam Aguiar, who represents members of the family.

“(LaDuke’s family) are confused, frustrated and not surprised,” Aguiar said. “Desman’s family are not naive, and they know historically that KSP investigations do not typically result in indictments. They were prepared for that.”

In an initial news release, Kentucky State Police said local police were at LaDuke’s home because they’d been told LaDuke was armed and suicidal. LaDuke’s family said police responded for the welfare check with a full SWAT unit, and crisis negotiation team, which the family said only escalated the situation.

Nicholasville police released a statement alleging LaDuke aimed two firearms at officers through a window before he was shot by Horton. KSP were the lead investigators of LaDuke’s death, and special prosecutor Richard Bottoms was assigned to the case. Bottoms was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Horton’s lawyer, Scott Miller, told the Herald-Leader Thursday he hasn’t seen documents from the KSP investigation. Miller represents Horton in a civil case against him that stems from the shooting.

“The main thing for us is getting a copy of the KSP investigation, which we did not have,” Miller said. “My focus is mainly on defending (Horton) in the civil case, and the resolution of this (criminal) case allows to us get additional information and hopefully resolve the civil matter as well.”

Miller previously told the Herald-Leader that the shooting was “tragic” but said Horton’s actions followed nationally-recognized policing guidelines.

Nicholasville police said in a statement Friday they are “confident that every proper resource and course of action was utilized and are grateful for this resolution despite the unfortunate” result of the shooting. They also called KSP’s investigation “exhaustive.”

“While any incident that results in a loss of life is tragic, it is essential that such instances be thoroughly examined in the interest of maintaining absolute accountability,” Sam Wade, a spokesperson for the department, said in a statement.

Family’s attorney: No indictment shows ‘system is failing.’

Aguiar told the Herald-Leader that neither he nor the family have any context of what happened in the grand jury’s proceedings, and believe not all appropriate information may have been given to the grand jury.

“It is a messy situation,” Aguiar said. “It is unfortunate because Desman’s family and I only heard about this second hand. There was no communication and we don’t know what was presented to the grand jury. We don’t know what no action means in context and if (the jurors) were given all the evidence and made a well informed decision that is one thing.”

A grand jury hearing decides whether or not criminal charges should be pursued against someone. Jurors hear testimony and are presented evidence based on the facts of the case by a prosecutor and other witnesses, including investigators. Jurors can decide what charges to indict the defendant on, or hand down “no true bill,” which means they aren’t pursuing criminal charges.

Aguiar said grand jury proceedings are done in secret and it’s unclear what evidence was presented to grand jurors. For example, a bystander caught the shooting on video, which KSP said they would use as part of the investigation. But Aguiar and the family don’t know if the video was shown to the grand jury.

KSP and Nicholasville police faced community backlash for not releasing body camera footage of the incident. They cited an “active investigation” as reason for not releasing the footage, which could have confirmed allegations that LaDuke pointed guns at officers.

Aguiar said he hopes to get access to investigative files and body camera footage now that the investigation has finished.

Aguiar was an attorney in the case of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot and killed by Louisville police in a botched attempt to execute a search warrant at her apartment.

As an attorney on the Breonna Taylor case, Aguiar said the LaDuke proceedings brought back bad memories and “leaves a bad taste” about how the grand jury process is “done in secrecy.”

Aguiar said it was difficult to find out what was presented to grand jurors in the state case against officers involved in Taylor’s death. Ultimately, only one of them was indicted and he was later acquitted. But several officers involved in the incident have since been charged with federal crimes. Aguiar said prosecutors “have too much unchecked power” in grand jury rooms.

“The system is failing,” Aguiar said.

LaDuke’s family is still seeking more police reform. They previously said changes should be made to how police respond to mental health distress calls.

Nicholasville police still face lawsuit

Attorneys who filed a lawsuit against Nicholasville police over LaDuke’s death still plan to proceed with that litigation, lawyer Jon Fannin confirmed Thursday.

Fannin and Matt Minner of Minner Vines Moncus Law Firm filed the lawsuit after they were hired by Fayette County Public Administrator John Norman, who is overseeing the estate on behalf of LaDuke’s biological father, Jessie White.

The lawsuit alleges Nicholasville police are liable for excessive force, assault and battery, negligence and gross negligence, wrongful death, and punitive damages, according to court documents

The lawsuit seeks relief for damages, an award of attorney’s fees and “injunctive relief regarding future police training and policy implementation,” attorneys wrote in the suit.

Fannin said more information about the case is being gathered through discovery. In a statement to the Herald-Leader, Fannin confirmed the conclusion of the criminal proceedings will allow them to obtain more information. He said the outcome of the criminal investigation “changes nothing about our commitment to aggressively pursuing the case filed in federal court.”

“It is not clear what evidence was or was not presented in the grand jury proceeding this week — I do not have access to that information,” he said. “What is clear is that a call for help should not end in a young man being carried out of his home on a stretcher with fatal gunshot wounds from a police officer.”

Miller, Horton’s attorney, previously said the lawsuit was a one-sided account of the shooting.

“The death of Desman LaDuke is a tragic outcome of a difficult situation, and we recognize this has been difficult for family members and our community,” Miller said in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader previously. “However, this lawsuit only presents one view, and doesn’t accurately reflect all the facts of the case.

“Officer Horton’s actions followed nationally recognized standard procedures for police response to an armed individual, were within Constitutional guidelines for use of force, and were consistent with Kentucky law and with his training in a situation with immediate threats to the safety of himself and others.”