Ever since law enforcement killed David McAtee, the beloved owner of a popular Louisville BBQ joint, police have made it seem like it was just an honest mistake. But there's more to the story. Much more.

Please read and share our investigation https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dbp3q/louisville-police-killed-david-mcatee-breonna-taylor-protests

Here's our investigative documentary, which was just published online

Inside the Deadly Louisville Police 'Power Play' That Killed David McAtee:

We obtained unreleased internal documents, photos, and body camera footage, as well other portions of the internal police investigation into David McAtee's death

We also spoke with multiple police sources, including several people who where in the city's command center when McAtee was killed. They dispute LMPD's official account of what happened that night. They called what happened "a flex of the muscle" and a "power play"

McAtee was killed when Louisville police and national guard came to clear the parking lot of Dino's, a corner store across the street from his restaurant. LMPD has repeatedly claimed it sent officers there because it had intelligence suggesting protestors were regrouping there

But that story has never made a lot of sense. As you can see from the map, the corner store is far away from where the center of the Breonna Taylor protests was (a little under 3 miles away). The intersection also looked that night like it usually did on weekends

And it seems it didn't make sense from the inside either. Multiple internal police sources told us the surveillance team hadn’t flagged any activity in the area because they didn’t see anything out of the ordinary and that there was no “intelligence” about protests moving there

One source suggested the department was likely using the word "intelligence" because it sounded official enough that the public wouldn’t question it

Before officers arrived, Lt. Colonel Josh Judah, who was in charge of operations on the ground, called into the command center, according to multiple people in the room. They say he wanted to make sure everyone was watching, and that the message was clear: “check this out”

Everyone, they said, then turned to the surveillance screens, and watched as law enforcement arrived at 26th and Broadway.

“I put up my feet and got out the popcorn,” one officer in the room told VICE News. “That’s how the message was delivered.”

When officers arrived on scene, people in the lot began to disperse. One LMPD officer—Katie Crews—crossed the street and started firing pepper balls at people gathered at McAtee’s restaurant, including several directly at McAtee’s niece, Machelle.

The city had just implemented a curfew, but Machelle and her family were on private property.

Crews kept firing pepper balls even as Machelle ran inside.

Machelle told us she didn't realize what was happening—who was firing at her and with what—until later. Panicked, she ran inside to tell her uncle that someone was shooting at them

That's when McAtee reached out and fired a shot, seemingly into the air. Surveillance footage appears to show him let off a second one as he was hit in the chest.

After it was all over, some of LMPD’s highest ranking officers couldn’t believe what they had just watched, or why anyone had been sent there at all, according to multiple people with first hand knowledge.

One source remembers even then LMPD chief Steve Conrad, who was in the room, expressing confusion about why anyone had been sent there, saying, it looked no different than any other weekend night.

Body camera footage appears to show the sentiment was shared by people on scene. Including Major Paul Humphrey, one of the highest ranking officers to respond to the shooting. New footage shows him telling a national guard member "this ain’t nothing but a weekend night at Dino’s"

LMPD has said there’s no footage of the incident because the two officers who fired their weapons didn’t turn their body cameras on. But they haven’t said anything about other officers. We know at least one body camera nearby did start recording before shots were fired

Photos taken later that morning by LMPD’s internal investigations division also identify at least seven other officers present at the time of the shooting. Three of them were wearing body cameras, but seem to have only recorded footage after the shooting.

LMPD’s investigation, which was conducted with the Kentucky State Police, was completed back in August. But it’s been kept from the public because the federal investigation is still ongoing.

None of the people we spoke with have been interviewed for any of them.

Here's a link to the documentary:

The Full Team
Co-reporters and producers: @jceballosv and @bellecushing
Editor: Jeb Banegas
DPs: Ben Bishop/Scott De Angioletti
Senior producer: @musefi