Prosecutor: Troopers not facing charges in fatal shooting of Grant County man

More than a year after a man was fatally shot by Kentucky State Police outside his home in Grant County, a grand jury decided last week not to indict the troopers involved.

Evidence from an investigation into the November 2021 shooting was presented to the grand jury on Dec. 14, but no indictments were returned against troopers Zachary Lusk and Douglas Holt, Grant County Commonwealth's Attorney Leigh Ann Roberts said in an email to The Enquirer.

Gary Bressler, 48, of Williamstown, Kentucky, was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead following the shooting, which happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 3, 2021. At the time of the incident, Lusk had been with KSP for six years and Holt had been with the agency a year.

According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in federal court by Bressler's family, Bressler had grown increasingly depressed in the months leading up to the shooting.

Sometime after midnight on the night of the shooting, Bressler became "bothered by something," the complaint says.

Bressler's wife overheard him talking on his cellphone, the lawsuit states. He then took a decorative samurai sword from their bedroom and walked out to the front yard.

According to the complaint, Bressler called 911 and tossed his cellphone to his wife, who began speaking with the operator.

"He was not threatening anyone verbally nor with the sword," the lawsuit states. "He was holding it with his arm extended and the tip of the sword an inch or so from the ground."

Grant County police responded to the scene first, followed shortly thereafter by troopers Lusk and Holt, who arrived in separate cars, the lawsuit states.

"Troopers Lusk and Holt, crouched behind their doors, yelled at Gary Bressler to drop the sword," the complaint reads. Bressler didn't drop the sword after a second command from police, according to the lawsuit.

From behind their cruiser doors, Lusk and Holt fired their weapons at Bressler, the complaint states, adding he died while his wife was rendering first aid.

A postmortem examination indicated Bressler "was killed by seven entrance-exit wounds and one graze wound," according to the complaint.

A redacted incident report obtained by The Enquirer in March did not include the agency's narrative of the incident. The Enquirer has since requested more documents from KSP regarding the shooting.

KSP's Critical Incident Response Team handled the investigation into Bressler's death.

The troopers were temporarily placed on administrative leave following the shooting. Both Lusk and Holt remain employed with KSP, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed Wednesday.

Bressler's family is suing the troopers in federal court in Covington, claiming in part that they deprived Bressler of his constitutional rights, used excessive force and inflicted emotional distress on his family.

In court documents, lawyers representing the troopers have denied those allegations.

"The family's obviously disappointed," Paul Hill, the lawyer representing Bressler's family, said of the grand jury's decision. Given the secrecy surrounding grand jury proceedings in Kentucky, Hill said, it's unclear how prosecutors presented the evidence in court.

While Bressler's wife and children were at the home when the shooting took place, Hill said none of them were called to testify before the grand jury.

"Transparency provides accountability," Hill said. "It's just not there in Kentucky."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Troopers not facing charges in fatal shooting of Grant County man