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LOUISVILLE, KY., (WDRB) — A federal judge “reluctantly” agreed Monday on a sentence of no prison time for a former Louisville Metro Police officer convicted of using excessive force during the Breonna Taylor protests.

But U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton issued a stiffer sentence than what prosecutors had recommended for Katie Crews, calling her actions “extremely dangerous.” 

Crews, who pleaded guilty to using excessive force the night David McAtee was killed in 2020, was sentenced Monday to two years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.

Crews was initially charged with a felony and was facing up to 10 years in prison for shooting pepper balls at McAtee’s niece, Machelle McAtee, on June 1, 2020, striking her once in the shoulder, as the woman was standing on private property and not a threat to officers.

Prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum sentence of one year behind bars. Both sides recommended a sentence of one year of probation. 

U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton said “it was an extremely difficult case” and “the level of danger was extreme,” but “the best of our bad options is to reluctantly approve” the probation deal.

Beaton, however, doubled the amount of time on probation and community service and added the fine.

Crews did not speak during her sentencing. 

Attorneys for McAtee’s family have said, “Ms. Crews accepted responsibility for her role in this and the family feels that sending her to prison would only make it worse when it is the LMPD as a whole that inadequately trained her and sent her there that night that deserves the lion’s share of blame.”

The incident and subsequent death of McAtee, killed by a Kentucky National Guard soldier, occurred after Louisville police and guard members arrived at Dino’s Food Mart at 26th Street and Broadway in the Russell neighborhood to disperse a crowd in violation of the then-citywide curfew in response to protests over the death of Breonna Taylor.

Crews told investigators she shot at Machelle McAtee because she “didn’t comply” with orders. Machelle McAtee was standing in the doorway of a private business.

Video shows that as Machelle McAtee is pulled inside by David McAtee, he leans out the door and fires a bullet. When he reaches out and fires again seconds later, Crews, LMPD Officer Allen Austin and two members of the National Guard returned fire, 18 shots in total.

An unidentified guardsman fired the only bullet that struck and killed McAtee, 53. He was shot once in the chest.

Federal prosecutors argued, in part, Crews was fairly new on the force and “clearly could not have foreseen the tragic outcome of her actions in this case,” according to a sentencing memorandum. 

Said defense attorney Steve Schroering, in court records: “The force was excessive and inconsistent with training. But Crews’ actions carried no evil or malicious intent. Her intent was to enforce the mayor’s curfew as she understood it ….  In her short time as an officer neither Crews nor her supervisors had been asked or expected to enforce a curfew. She had never been issued or handled a pepperball launcher while on duty. The actual hands-on training with the tool was minimal.”

And while a pepper ball gun is considered a dangerous weapon under sentencing guidelines, prosecutors wrote that many officers perceive them as “minimal force” and similar to paintball guns.

“In using a weapon that most LMPD officers equate with a ‘paintball gun,’ Defendant Crews likely did not foresee the likelihood of injury,” prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office wrote in the sentencing recommendation.

Under terms of the sentence, Crews is not allowed to seek a job in law enforcement again.

Crews was also likely acting on high emotions from previous days of city-wide protests revolving around the Breonna Taylor slaying on March 13, 2020, according to the prosecution.

While working downtown on May 28, Crews was “accosted by a female protestor,” according to the filing. A picture of this encounter was published in The Courier-Journal, and Crews, prosecutors said, posted a comment on Facebook that “expresses delight at the prospect of a pepperball gun being used to cause pain to this particular prosecutor.”

The picture appears to show a female protester handing Crews a flower, but Crews wrote that the woman “was saying and doing a lot more than ‘offering flowers’ to me.

“P.S. I hope the pepper balls that she got lit up with a little hurt,” she wrote on Facebook. “Come back and get you some tonight ole girl, I’ll be on the line again tonight.”

The prosecution argued that Crews’ actions “were likely motivated, at least in part, by these emotions. However, (the prosecution) did not identify any uses of excessive force by Defendant Crews predating the incident.”

And since the incident, Crews has maintained employment and is a contributing member to society, according to the sentencing recommendation. She works as a K-9 handler, though not with law enforcement, according to the sentencing filing.

“Given the circumstances, a sentence of probation is sufficient to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant,” the U.S. Attorney’s office concluded.

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