Louisville Police Release Bodycam Footage of Fatal Shooting of Man Holding Screwdriver

 

Two officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) fatally shot a man on Sunday evening after he reportedly refused repeated commands to drop a screwdriver. Body camera footage released Tuesday shows the encounter, which ended in the death of 45-year-old Russell Bowman on Crawford Avenue in the Pleasure Ridge Park area.The officers involved in the shooting were identified as Devin Dawes and Matthew Aden, both of whom have been with LMPD since 2015. The incident unfolded around 7:45 p.m. after officers responded to reports of a man acting erratically in a residential neighborhood just off Dixie Highway.

According to police, Bowman was seen pacing outside a home while gripping a screwdriver in his right hand. The bodycam video shows multiple officers following Bowman on foot, attempting to de-escalate the situation. Officers repeatedly instructed Bowman to drop the tool and surrender peacefully.Despite several clear warnings, Bowman continued to walk back and forth and refused to comply. “Drop the screwdriver!” officers shouted multiple times as they surrounded him. At one point, several officers attempted to subdue him using tasers. However, the tasers failed to have any effect. In the footage, Bowman is heard yelling, “It ain’t working!”

Officer Matthew Aden, attempting to reason with Bowman, pleaded with him to surrender. “Just drop it,” Aden can be heard saying. “We don’t want to hurt you.” Moments later, Bowman lunged toward Aden with the screwdriver still in hand. In response, both Aden and Dawes fired their weapons multiple times, striking Bowman before he collapsed to the ground.

Immediately after the shooting, other officers on the scene began rendering medical aid. Despite their efforts, Bowman was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured during the incident.At a press conference on Tuesday, LMPD Chief Steve Conrad confirmed the events captured in the video and reiterated the department's use-of-force policy. He declined to take questions from the media but stressed the complexity and risk involved in police work.“Police work is a dangerous job that requires difficult split-second decisions that others will judge and scrutinize for a lifetime,” Conrad said. He went on to reaffirm the department’s policy that deadly force is permitted when an individual poses “an immediate threat or danger of serious injury to the officer or to another person.”

The shooting remains under investigation by LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit, as is standard in all officer-involved shootings. Both officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Russell Bowman had a documented history of mental health challenges and prior run-ins with the law. Arrest citations indicate he had previously received treatment at Central State Mental Hospital and had experienced periods of homelessness. His most recent arrest was in 2017, when he was charged for smashing business windows with a crowbar. Over the years, Bowman faced a variety of charges, including public intoxication, public urination, disorderly conduct, and robbery.Despite his troubled past, the fatal outcome of Sunday’s encounter has raised questions in the community about how officers respond to individuals in mental health crises. Advocacy groups have called for better training and more non-lethal options for law enforcement when handling such incidents.

Officers Aden and Dawes are both assigned to LMPD’s Third Division, which includes neighborhoods such as Auburndale, Fairdale, Kenwood Hill, Iroquois Park, and the Pleasure Ridge Park area where the shooting occurred. Both officers have received several commendations during their time on the force, according to department records.The department has pledged to conduct a full review of the incident. Additional information will be released as the investigation progresses, and the footage has been made publicly available to ensure transparency.