Nephew of David McAtee Disputes Police Claim That Louisville Barbecue Owner Fired At Them Before Being Shot
The confusion in Louisville over police violence reached a fever pitch early Monday (June 1), creeping into a part of town where the community felt safe. A popular barbecue restaurant owner was tragically gunned down in a chaotic rush to control crowds protesting the death of George Floyd by police. Now, his family is speaking out about their grief and loss and questioning what really happened that night.
David McAtee, who owned YaYa’s BBQ in Louisville’s West End, had been a staple, cooking for the community for the last five years. The 53-year old was killed when gunfire came toward his business during the melee.
Now, in an interview with BET.com, McAtee’s nephew, Marvin McAtee, 28, is saying there’s no reason his uncle should have died and believes that the police are not being completely forthright.
“What’s running with the press is not how it happened; them saying that my uncle let off lethal rounds,” said McAtee. He noted that the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department was very familiar with his uncle and knew that “YaYa”would never shoot at the police, despite a police report that said he had.
What in fact happened, said McAtee, who had left the scene about two hours prior to the shooting, was that his uncle was only trying to protect his niece when commotion erupted as police and National Guard troops tried to clear the area.
“From the different videos that are circulating, you can see the National Guard in the parking lot from where my uncle was located, and you could see the officers trying to disperse the crowd, trying to make everybody leave.
“But with my uncle being so popular and being such an activist in the city, people feel safe when they’re on 26th [Street] and violence pops out, so the crowd dispersed and ran toward where my uncle was and they all ran inside. He welcomed them with open arms just to get them away from the fire and ammunition they were letting off into the crowd for no reason [because] nobody was armed.”
McAtee said in the fracas, his young cousin ran toward their uncle’s door and he acted instinctively to save her from the gunfire. While she was struck, she sustained a non-life-threatening injury, according to reports.
“He sees his niece getting shot in the door and he pulls her out of the way and immediately they open lethal rounds on my uncle. No warning shots, no trying to diffuse the situation,” he said.
McAtee said he believes that the National Guard fired the fatal shots because they didn’t have a relationship with him the way the LMPD did. “Ninety percent of the LMPD has to know my uncle. They’ve exchanged Christmas gifts and all types of things with each other,” he said.
He also noted that they would keep him abreast of incidents taking place around town. “[The National Guard] has no understanding of the relationship...they don’t know what he was to the community and what type of person he was, so it was most definitely the National Guard.”
David McAtee, 53, had returned to Louisville nearly five years ago after having been in the restaurant industry in Atlanta for several years. He was intent on opening his own restaurant, which he started with his brother. Before long they expanded YaYa’s into the go-to barbecue spot, a friendly place where the community could come every day.
Video footage of the incident released by the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department and another from McAtee’s YaYa’s BBQ Shack on Tuesday shows David McAtee letting a group of people into his kitchen after an apparent commotion and him shielding a teenage girl, presumably his niece, which corroborates his nephew’s version of events. He is seen raising his arm outside of the doorway, but it is not apparent if he is indeed holding a weapon, although his nephew says he was a licensed firearm owner. David McAtee can be seen stumbling back inside the kitchen, where he later died.
“I can’t picture Unk dying from nothing but saving someone,”he said. “I can’t see him going out any other way. He just was a humble person. All he wanted to do was make his food,” said Marvin McAtee.
According to reports, Louisville police officers had been firing pepper balls (similar to paint balls, but they are instead filled with pepper spray) into the crowd before the gunfire began. The LMPD maintains that McAtee fired his weapon at them and that he was hit when they returned fire, but details are sketchy and officials say they will have to continue to review the video and other evidence.
It was also later revealed that body cameras of the police were not activated. Police Chief Steve Conrad was fired on Monday once that was revealed.
Gov. Andy Beshear has ordered the Kentucky State Police to investigate the incident, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. The FBI Louisville Field Office, U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman's office and state Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office will join the investigation. "Our goal is to get all of the facts, get them quickly and be able to present a — as much as possible — clear determination of what happened," said J. Michael Brown, Kentucky’s executive cabinet secretary.
Besehar announced that in the wake of McAtee’s death, he will be reducing the National Guard’s presence in Louisville. It may be too little too late for the McAtee family who must now prepare to bury one of their own.
Marvin McAtee said he is not currently sure if the family will take legal action against the LMPD or the city of Louisville. However, he says he intends to seek legal assistance himself on his uncle’s behalf.
“I”m trying to find a lawyer who can help sue for these types of crimes,” he said. “I’m not letting up. I”m certainly trying to get this handled.”
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Donate to Justice For David McAtee
A GoFundMe was established for the family of David McAtee. You can donate here.
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Madison J. Gray is the senior editor at BET.com. BET has been covering every angle of George Floyd’s death in police custody, other social justice cases and the subsequent aftermath and protests. For our continuing coverage, click here.
