LMPD officer who shot pepper balls at WAVE crew receives written letter of reprimand

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey made an announcement regarding the officer accused of firing pepper balls at WAVE News crew during downtown protests in 2020.

In May 2020, hundreds of people gathered in downtown Louisville to protest in the name of Breonna Taylor. On the night of Friday, May 29, during the second night of protests, LMPD officer Dustin Dean was seen on live television firing pepper balls at former WAVE reporter Kaitlin Rust and WAVE photojournalist James Dobson.

Previous Coverage

• Cory Evans: First LMPD officer to be charged in riots pleads guilty
• Officer involved in WAVE 3 News pepper ball shooting nominated for an award for a separate incident
• FBI investigating more LMPD officers for conduct during protests
• Kaitlin Rust: WAVE 3 News reporter recounts being shot by officer with pepper balls
• Identity of LMPD officer who fired pepper balls at WAVE 3 News crew revealed
• LMPD officer fires pepper balls at WAVE 3 News reporter, photographer during Louisville protest

Rust said in a previous statement that she was instructed to move while live on air, and was complying, but was still shot with pepper balls.

Dean, who was reassigned following the incident while the FBI investigated, was not the only LMPD officer whose actions came under scrutiny during the protests. Cory Evans was the first to be federally charged with civil rights violations related to the Breonna Taylor protests. Evans was accused of hitting kneeling protestors with a riot stick.

Humphrey said the FBI investigated the incident involving Dean for the next three years before returning the investigation results and declining to file criminal charges. Once the criminal investigation was finished, a Professional Standards Unit case was initiated.

Humphrey said Dean faced four charges: one related to reporting the incident, another for use of force de-escalation, and two charges related to chemical agent usage. Dean was exonerated of three out of the four charges. He was sustained on one charge for violating LMPD’s use of force policy regarding chemical agents and received a letter of reprimand.

The night of the incident, Humphrey said, was during a time of “mass unrest.” According to Humphrey, several officers were injured during the protests being struck with Molotov cocktails, and having rocks thrown at them. Dean was wearing a gas mask the night of May 29, which Humphrey said makes it harder to see and process your surroundings.

Humphrey claimed Dean was giving verbal commands to people, but could not see who they were. Dean’s body camera footage attests to that, according to Humphrey. Another mitigating factor that was taken into account was that it was dark out. Humphrey said because of that, the media’s lights were shining in officers’ faces and that camera lights were one of the things officers were faced with during the protests. He said people were intentionally using lights to blind officers and keep them from being able to see while they were also being hit with rocks.

“There are a lot of mitigating circumstances that go into that,” Humphrey said. “I do not discount the impact that it had on Mr. Dobson, and it is obviously a violation that he sustained on that, but there are a lot of mitigating circumstances that also go into that. That tense, uncertain, rapidly evolving situation. Like I said, I also factor in how Officer Dean behaved afterward.”

Humphrey said while the FBI investigated, Dean was placed under administrative suspension and had his police powers stripped. He worked a desk job for over three years.

Since the 2020 protests, Humphrey said LMPD has undergone many structural changes, including their use of force policy.