LMPD officer no charges after fatally hitting West End teen with car

An off-duty Louisville Metro Police lieutenant who fatally struck a 17-year-old pedestrian with an unmarked police vehicle in March is not facing criminal charges, with prosecutors saying he could not have avoided hitting the teen and calling it a "most unfortunate incident," The Courier Journal has learned.

Clay Twyman was hit by Lt. Jeff Lauder’s police-issued Chevy Tahoe on the evening of March 13 in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood after the teen stepped into the roadway from between two parked vehicles, according to police. He was later declared dead at U of L Hospital.

“There are no indications in the investigative file that distraction, speed or intoxication was present in Lt. Lauder’s operation of his Chevy Tahoe,” First Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Alex Dathorne wrote in an Aug. 29 letter informing LMPD his office would not be pursuing criminal charges. “It appears there was nothing Lt. Lauder could have done differently to avoid this most unfortunate incident.”

According to an LMPD Public Integrity Unit investigation and a review of that investigation by the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office obtained by The Courier Journal under Kentucky's open records law, Twyman was “highly intoxicated” and likely wearing dark clothing when he stepped into the roadway.

The investigation cited a toxicology report that showed the teen had a number of substances in his system — including fentanyl and methamphetamine — when he was killed. It also cited witnesses who described Twyman as trying to enter yards, “messing with cars” parked on the street and walking in the road before he was struck.

One witness said they called 911 after Twyman tried to enter their yard.

Lauder, who commanded SWAT at the time, was traveling eastbound on Bank Street with his wife, Maj. Shannon Lauder, and their child. Shannon Lauder told investigators they were off-duty and had been delivering homecooked food to LMPD’s nearby First Division, which she commanded at the time, after its officers experienced a taxing week.

Both Jeff and Shannon Lauder are currently on administrative leave amid an investigation into unrelated, high-profile allegations of sexual misconduct against them.

Jeff Lauder has previously been punished by LMPD for three at-fault vehicle accidents.

As a result of a 2010 accident where Lauder rear-ended a vehicle in stopped traffic on Interstate 265, he was ordered to take mandatory driver’s training.

After a 2011 crash on Broadway, Lauder was suspended for one day after the department determined he "negligently operated his vehicle" and caused the accident.

And less than half a year before the Portland incident, Lauder received an oral reprimand after he was determined to be at-fault when he damaged his vehicle while backing it into a parking spot.

According to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office’s letter, breathalyzer and urine tests by Lauder the night of the fatal accident in March showed no alcohol or narcotics in his system.

While Lauder’s police-issued vehicle was outfitted with a system that logged crash data — such as the speed at the time of impact — LMPD Traffic Unit Detective Bryan Gillis told an investigator the system did not capture any information.

“He [Gillis] believed this was due to the vehicle speed at the time of impact, the airbags didn’t deploy, and there wasn’t hard braking when the collision occurred,” wrote Sgt. Matthew Crouch in an investigative report.

Photos of Lauder’s Tahoe included in the files obtained by The Courier Journal show significant damage to the body of the vehicle around the left headlight, the area that struck Twyman.

Shannon Lauder told investigators she thought the car had struck an open door of a parked car, which she said was a frequent occurrence on Bank Street.

When her husband told her a person was hit, she said she got out and attempted to provide aid to the teen. Jeff Lauder called in the accident over his police radio.

An attorney who represented Lauder in regard to the incident did not respond to a request for comment. A lawyer who represented Twyman’s family similarly did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Both the Commonwealth Attorney’s office and LMPD described Twyman’s attempt to cross the road outside of a crosswalk as unlawful. Visiting the site where Twyman was killed about two weeks after the accident, The Courier Journal observed the nearest crosswalk was more than 900 feet away.

Reach reporter Josh Wood [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at@JWoodJourno.