Louisville cop who fired pepper balls at reporters during protests last summer, nominated for an award.

Louisiana cop who fired pepper balls at reporters during protests last summer, nominated for an award.

A Louisville, KY. cop who was seen in a viral video firing peppers balls at reporters during Breonna Taylor’s protests last summer has been nominated for a Merit Award for his handling of the protests.

Dusten Dean and two other officers were to be considered for an Exceptional Merit Award for their work during the protests, which is when a video of Dean firing nonlethal rounds at WAVE 3 News reporter Kaitlin Rust and photojournalist James Dobson went viral, according to the Louisville Courier Journal .



“I commend you for your exceptional work ethic, dedication and perseverance with actions that have made a significant contribution to the LMPD and improve the quality of life in the community,” Robert Schroeder, who was the department’s chief at the time said in a recognition letter.

A spokesperson for the LMPD said Dean did not win the award. But that’s of little comfort to Rust who said it was “disheartening” to hear that Dean would be nominated for an award for his work during the protest in the first place.