Former LMPD officer pleads guilty to protest-related charge

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A former LMPD officer will have to turn in his police badge forever after pleading guilty to a federal crime.

On Wednesday, Richard Weido changed his plea to guilty for firing a rubber bullet at a protester’s face.

The charge is a violation of a person’s civil rights under the Color of Law provision.

As part of a plea agreement, he was convicted of a class A misdemeanor and will receive one year of probation, if the judge agrees during a sentencing hearing in August.

Weido will also lose his Kentucky law enforcement certification, limiting his ability to ever wear a badge in the state of Kentucky again.

According to the FBI, Weido was on protest duty in May 2020. Someone from the crowd threw a bottle at police.

That’s when the FBI said Weido fired a rubber bullet into the crowd, but without even knowing who threw the bottle.

The rubber bullet hit a protester who posed no threat, The US Attorney’s Office said during the hearing.

The protester, who was not named, was hit in the face and suffered serious injuries.

This is one of several cases brought by the FBI’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Task Force involving the protests.

There are other cases still pending, including Dusten Dean, the LMPD officer who fired pepper balls at a WAVE News reporter and photographer live on air.

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