Constable David Whitlock to leave law enforcement in Walmart shooting plea, avoid jail time

by Joseph Lord
Courior Journal
Oct. 10, 2012

Jefferson County Constable David Whitlock must resign as part of a plea agreement that will spare him from having to go to prison for shooting a suspected shoplifter in a southwest Louisville Walmart parking lot.

Whitlock, 35, can never again seek a law enforcement position, as part of the plea he entered Tuesday in Jefferson Circuit Court. Whitlock made an Alford plea, meaning he did not admit his guilt on charges of first-degree wanton endangerment and second-degree assault under extreme emotional disturbance, but he conceded there was enough evidence to convict him.

He’ll enter a one-year diversion program, during which he’ll be prohibited from carrying a firearm or contacting the shooting victim.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Van De Rostyne said prosecutors’ main aim was to “ensure the safety of the community — to try to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

The incident at the Walmart on Raggard Road occurred in November 2011. Whitlock shot a woman he suspected of being a shoplifter after he said she ran over his foot in the parking lot.