LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In a moment, lives were forever changed this past Monday on an interstate on-ramp in Crestwood. Two families lost their loved ones and a Kentucky State Trooper was forced to make a tough decision.
KSP said forensic evidence confirmed Trooper Joey Brown, who shot and killed Ty'Rell Pounds Monday after a police chase, did not shoot Skylar Williams, the woman whom police said Pounds abducted from Ohio. Police said the bullet that hit her came from Pounds's gun.
"I'm sure that he's relieved knowing that but he's still been involved in a terrible scenario, and it's an emotional strain," KSP Commissioner Rick Sanders said. "It'll take a while for him to get over that."
"If we're talking about an officer-involved shooting, there's not an officer anywhere who wants to be involved in a shooting," John McGuire said.
McGuire is the deputy commissioner of the Department of Criminal Justice Training in Kentucky. He could not speak on the specifics of the officer-involved shooting in Oldham County, but said he often works with officers who have experienced what he calls a critical incident, which includes officer-involved shootings. He said each person responds differently to the traumatic experience.
"I think one of the things they don't realize is ultimately what they're having is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation," he said.
McGuire said there has long been a stigma when it comes to discussing mental health among public safety officers. Fortunately, that has been changing over the past few years, with programs in Kentucky like the Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Program.
"They'll learn skills that will then help them go out and help other officers as well, or at least help direct them towards help," he said.
McGuire said people who have gone through those programs have credited them for helping them in their recovery.
"They don't realize there's other people that are feeling the same way that they do or who have been through the same situations and are having the same types of issues," he said.
Anyone looking for help following a traumatic experience can visit the Kentucky Post-Critical Incident Seminar's website.