FLORENCE, Ky. — Body camera footage shows the moments before Boone County deputies shot and killed Michael Simpson, a 35-year-old who reportedly stole a tractor-trailer and attempted to run from police in Florence.
Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders on Tuesday released footage from multiple officers and deputies, as well as announced that he believes there is no probable cause for criminal charges against the deputies who fired their guns the morning of April 29.
Watch the full press conference with Sanders in the video below:
Kentucky State Police initially reported that Florence police officers and Boone County sheriff's deputies responded to Industrial Road at around 7 a.m. April 29 for a reported stolen vehicle. In a 911 call played Tuesday, you can hear someone report a trailer stolen from a truck stop. That trailer had GPS tracking, and the caller relayed the location to dispatchers.
Footage from two Florence police officers shows the moment they pulled over the stolen trailer. As one officer attempted to put Simpson in handcuffs, he took off running. Both officers attempted to catch up with him. As they run, you can see Simpson pull out a gun and point it at his head.
Simpson ran near and on multiple crowded roads, with the body camera footage showing several cars trying to avoid him and officers as he continued to lead them with a gun pointed at his head.
In the body camera footage, you can hear multiple officers yelling, "Drop it," and "Stop," as Simpson continues to walk. Sanders said KSP has spoken to at least one person who said Simpson attempted to carjack them during that time.
Eventually, footage shows Simpson backing into a lot at the Amazon facility. At this time, multiple officers and deputies have surrounded him and are yelling at him to drop the gun.
You can hear Simpson communicate with one deputy, asking him, "What do you think's gonna happen, man?"
The deputy tells him to drop the gun and talk to him, to which Simpson responds, "How many charges is this?"
As they go back and forth, Simpson says he wants to speak with a person named "Bre," who Sanders said KSP identified as Simpson's girlfriend. The deputy tells him he will let him talk to Bre if he puts the gun down and comes with him, calling in to say he needs a cruiser and a charger for an Android phone for Simpson.
Officials continue to call for Simpson to drop his gun. He begins walking toward them, still seemingly holding the gun up to his head. You can hear multiple officials scream at him to drop it before hearing shots fired.
As officers begin to walk toward Simpson, he appears to be saying, "I love you Bre" as he lies on the ground. Sanders said police began CPR and EMS took Simpson to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No footage shown Tuesday was from the two deputies who fired shots. Sanders said one of them did not have their body-worn camera on because he was responding to the call after getting off work. The other, Sanders said, unintentionally had his camera turned off while in the middle of the incident and he did not turn it back on until after shots were fired.
The two deputies who fired their shots were identified as deputies TJ Shinkle and Daniel Walker. Sanders said Shinkle has been with the sheriff's office for over 12 years and previously served in the Marine Corps. Walker has been with the sheriff's office since 2020 and also works on the Hostage Negotiation Team. Sanders said neither have a history of complaint or discipline.
While deciding on charges, Sanders said his office found the deputies were justified in protecting themselves, other officers and the public. Sanders noted law enforcement does not have to wait for a gun to be pointed at them to fire. In this case, video never shows Simpson pointing the gun at anyone but himself.
"Every time you saw him raise and lower a gun, every time that gun starts to move, it's a wonder he wasn't shot earlier," Sanders said.
Sanders said a KSP investigation also found that Simpson — who has prior addresses in Ohio and Kentucky but lived in Greendale, Indiana at the time of his death — had made previous statements about suicide by cop and had noted he had no interest in returning to jail after serving time for DUIs.
While Sanders is Kenton County's prosecutor, he said he was assigned this case due to a conflict of interest for the Boone County Commonwealth's Attorney, Louis Kelly.
