Sandy MaloneLouisville, KY – The president of the Louisville Metro Council said that the Black Lives Matter-backed group that bailed out the would-be assassin of a mayoral candidate should have left 21-year-old Quintez Brown behind bars.
Brown was released from jail at about 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 after the Louisville Community Bail Fund paid the $100,000 cash bond on his behalf, the Courier Journal reported.
But Louisville Metro Council President David James said the Louisville Community Bail Fund shouldn’t have bailed out the man who tried to shoot Democratic Mayor Candidate Craig Greenberg and his staff on Valentine’s Day, WHAS reported.
“They are going to be responsible for what he may or may not do to anybody,” James said.
The council president didn’t think Brown should be released and allowed to enter home confinement, WHAS reported.
“I think it’s controversial,” James said. “I think that we had an individual with mental health problems try to assassinate a mayoral candidate by walking into their office in broad daylight and firing at five people in an office.”
Brown is a candidate for the city’s Metro Council and a former intern and opinion writer for the Courier Journal intern.
He was charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment after he opened fire Greenberg and his staff inside their campaign office on Feb. 14, the Courier Journal reported.
The attack occurred at approximately 10:15 a.m. on Feb. 14 in the office inside the Butchertown Market building.
Greenberg told reporters afterward that he and four members of his staff were in the middle of a meeting when the suspect barged in, the Courier Journal reported.
He said the suspect suddenly “pulled out a gun, aimed directly at me and began shooting.”
Greenberg said told reporters at a press conference that at least one round grazed his shirt, according to the Courier Journal.
One of the staff members was able to slam the door on the attacker just before the rest of the group barricaded the door with desks and tables.
Louisville police said they responded to the scene after receiving a report of “an active aggressor,” the Courier Journal reported.
Police announced Monday night that they had arrested Brown in connection with the attack.
The Louisville Community Bail Fund, co-founded by Black Lives Matter Louisville organizer Chanelle Helm, announced on Tuesday after Brown’s arraignment before District Judge Annette Karem that her group would put up the $100,000 cash bond, WFPL reported.
Attorneys for Brown have claimed that he suffered from mental issues and should not be incarcerated in the downtown Louisville jail, which has recently been the subject of multiple investigations, WFPL reported.
The Black Lives Matter organizer said she didn’t think the facility had the services that Brown needed.
“[The Louisville Metro Department of Corrections] has seen its sixth death in the last four months and they have not provided adequate resources for those underneath its detention,” Helm said. “We’re extremely concerned for anyone being held there, especially someone like Quintez [Brown] who is having mental health concerns from his family and community members.”
The bail fund that released Brown has worked to release numerous Black Lives Matter protesters who were arrested during the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor riots, the Courier Journal reported.
“We have enough in to take care of him,” Helm told reporters. “We got a lot of money in 2020. We’re doing exactly what we would do for anyone else in this situation.”
She said the bail fund assists in getting people mental health assistance while they are awaiting trial, the Courier Journal reported.
“They’re not done with the case just because they make bail,” the Black Lives Matter organizer said. “In the meantime, jails and prisons do not rehabilitate people. The community’s been doing that.”
Helm said that Brown is a part of the Black Lives Matter Louisville community and that the group was “shaken up” by the accusations against him, the Courier Journal reported.
Holly Matkin
