Warrant shows what led US Marshals to suspect before fatal officer-involved shooting

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The man shot and killed by an officer on May 20 in Chickasaw was wanted for numerous charges connected to domestic abuse, including strangulation and assault, according to an arrest warrant obtained exclusively by WAVE News Troubleshooters.

When the shooting on Sutcliffe Avenue happened, officers from the U.S. Marshals Task Force, which includes LMPD officers, were attempting to serve a felony warrant on Omari Cryer. LMPD Chief Erika Shields explained during a news conference about the shooting that Cryer was armed and ran from officers attempting to serve the warrant. Shields said an officer shot Cryer after he was stopped by a fence

“There was a brief foot pursuit, they ran upon a fence, subsequently, the Marshals opened fire, striking Mr. Cryer,” Shields said. “Mr. Cryer was in possession of a handgun at the time he was shot.”

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The LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit has not shared video from the officers’ body cameras as part of their investigation into the shooting. Shields said that it, as well as Cryer’s autopsy, will be made public.

Since the shooting, there has been a tidal wave of false information, and Shields stated it was one of the reasons she wanted to offer an update to the public on Monday.

“When I look back on Friday, I don’t think our communication at the front end was what it needed to be to the public,” Shields said, “and that was because people were trying to figure out were the U.S. Marshals Public Affairs going to handle, were we going to handle, who was going to handle the investigation?”

The arrest warrant for Cryer states that on Jan. 23, 2022, he punched a female victim in the face and head while she was sleeping. The woman was also shoved into a wall while Cryer threatened to “kill” her, according to the document. He then struck the victim in the face with a semi-automatic handgun and used his forearm to choke her as she began to lose consciousness, the warrant states.

When the victim was able to get away, she went to a neighbor’s home.

Strangulation, domestic violence assault, assault in the 4th degree, and terroristic threatening were all listed among Cryer’s charges. According to court documents, he was wanted for a second time for violating his parole in a case that occurred in 2019.

Cryer’s family told WAVE News that they haven’t received any information about the shooting. In their opinion, the police should not have shot him.

“It’s disgusting,” Cryer’s cousin, Ansong McGhee, said. “We want the world to know that (Cryer’s mother) still does not know what happened to her son. She deserves answers - wrong or right. … We want answers. We want answers for Omari Cryer. His mom still does not know what happened to him. They’re not telling her nothing. We’re getting bits and pieces. We don’t know exactly what happened, except for the people on the streets that lived there around where that happened. His mom, his family, deserves to know. His granny deserves to know what happened to him.”

Cryer’s mother said she is heartbroken due to the fact that she has not been able to see her son’s body.

This story will be updated.