Grand jury declines to indict man in deadly Kentucky State University shooting

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - All charges against the man arrested after a deadly shooting at Kentucky State University on December 9 have been dropped after a grand jury declined to indict Jacob Bard.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Larry Cleveland said prosecutors presented the entire case to a grand jury of 12 people. Early testimony in the case revealed Bard had safety concerns for his son. Since the shooting, he maintained that he acted in self-defense.

“I think any parent that can imagine being in those shoes would have done the exact same thing, and I think that’s ultimately what the grand jury decided,” Bard’s attorney Johnathan Danks said.

Jacob Bard posted bond and the Commonwealth’s Attorney confirmed he will be refunded. The investigation into what happened on KSU’s campus is still ongoing.

Lexington attorney Daniel Whitley, who was not involved in the case, said even though the grand jury cleared Jacob Bard of charges of murder and assault from the deadly Kentucky State University shooting, he is not necessarily a free man.

“In this case, even though the grand jury decided not to indict him, they could find a different grand jury present it again because there’s no statute of limitations,” Whitley said.

Whitley said the grand jury’s decision is likely due to the Franklin Commonwealth’s Attorney allowing all the evidence to be presented before the indictment, not just what was favorable to the prosecution.

“Looks like in this situation, it was an extreme situation where the father, for the protection of his son, believed that arming himself to get his son out of that situation was best and the grand jury agreed,” Whitley said.

Bard’s attorney, Johnathan Danks, said the family will be in a secure location because of continuous online threats to his safety.

Whitley said that although Bard was not indicted on these charges, the KSU shooting is something that will be connected to Bard’s name.

“I’ve won some cases where people have been vindicated for using reasonable force in self-defense. It’s a harder life to live afterwards because forever he’s going to be linked to taking someone’s life,” Whitley said.

Whitley said several civil cases could be filed on behalf of the shooting victims, Bard, or Kentucky State University. He said the criminal portion of the case is over as long as a new grand jury is not selected, but the victim’s family may continue to pursue some form of justice.

“And on the other side of that, they’re still people. The victim’s family, who believe that justice wasn’t served, and they’re not going to be satisfied until they believe justice is served in this case, they’re not going to be happy the grand jury saw the evidence otherwise,” Whitley said.

In a statement, Kentucky State University President Dr. Koffi Akakpo said, “We want our campus community to know that the University is cooperating with law enforcement and investigators as appropriate and will continue to do so. Our focus is on care and accountability within the scope of our responsibilities as an institution.”