The officers who shot and killed a man in Florence last month were justified in using deadly force to save their own lives, Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
As such, there is no probable cause for criminal charges in the case, Sanders said.
The man, identified at a press conference on May 13 as 35-year-old Michael Anthony Simpson of Indiana, reportedly stole a tractor-trailer and attempted to run from police.
Law enforcement caught up to the man on Industrial Road at the Amazon facility and shot him just before 7 a.m. on April 29. Simpson was transported to St. Elizabeth and was later pronounced dead.
Although the incident occurred in Boone County, the Kentucky Attorney General appointed Rob Sanders of the Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office as special prosecutor to review the law enforcement use of deadly force. Sanders led Tuesday’s press conference.
“In this case, I lost count of how many times the officers told this suspect to drop his weapon or to stop, or numerous, numerous times he was given the opportunity to surrender,” Sanders said.
Sanders said the investigation is closed, and the deputies are cleared.
At the press conference, the 911 call was played, reporting a stolen semi-truck trailer from a truck stop. It was equipped with GPS tracking, which was relayed to the 911 dispatch.
That tractor was stopped just off Industrial Road by the Florence Police Department. The police body-worn camera footage, shown to media during the press conference, shows an officer approaching the truck attached to the stolen trailer, where another officer is trying to cuff Simpson. Simpson then takes off running and pulls out a handgun.
The time from when the officers arrived to the shots fired is roughly 15 minutes.
Officers routinely yell at Simpson to drop his weapon. This continues for several minutes as the suspect continues to run in the street near pedestrian traffic. Sanders said during the press conference that during the pursuit on Industrial Road, Simpson attempted to carjack at least two people.
Simpson then continues down the sidewalk, which can be seen on the body-cam video. He can be heard yelling things like, “You’re trying to harm me,” and “You’re going to put me in jail.” He keeps repeating “Let me go home.”
Simpson then starts to walk onto Amazon’s property, where he is cornered. Officers keep repeating to put the gun down. He asks the officer how many charges he has.
At one point, Simpson asks to speak to a woman. Sanders identified her as Simpson’s fiancé or girlfriend. The deputy keeps offering him to talk to her. The deputy can be seen on the body cam footage calling for a cruiser to bring a phone charger so Simpson can charge his phone and to talk to the woman.
Shortly after, Simpson begins walking toward the officers, still with his gun in hand. Boone County Sheriff’s Deputy TJ Shinkle fired three shots and Boone County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel Walker fired one shot. All four shots hit Simpson.
The Amazon facility where the shooting occurred was also in operation, and a lockdown was in progress. Sanders said the deputies were aware of this and didn’t want to let it turn into a hostage situation.
Sanders said Shinkle has been with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office since 2013. He has no history of complaints or discipline. Walker has been with the sheriff’s office since 2020. He also has no history of complaints or discipline, according to Sanders.
After the video shows Simpson being shot, officers begin trying to perform emergency medical treatment on him until emergency medical services arrive.
“He had no prior felony record,” Sanders said. “However, he had served time in jail on some previous DUI charges … and has made prior statements about having no intention of going back to jail and that he would commit suicide by cop before going back to jail.”
