A man accused of firing shots at Metro Police has a familiar past. Jerry Hampton was shot several times over the weekend after he allegedly shot at officers.
But this is not the first time Hampton has been connected to a shootout involving police. In 1996, Hampton ambushed Sgt. Travis Hatchell in a gun battle on the Watterson Expressway.
Hampton served 15 years in prison for the crime and had only been on the street for seven months before Saturday's confrontation with police. The most recent shooting happened at 19th and Rowan Streets on Saturday night.
"I was very surprised to learn it was the same guy; I thought he would still be in prison," says David James, former Louisville police officer and FOP president.
Former Louisville Police officer David James remembers Hampton from 1996. That's when Hampton was involved in a shootout along with Officer Travis Hatchell.
"Actually I heard it on the radio, and I had left Travis not too long before that. He and I have been friends every since he has been on the police department," says James. "Travis at the time was assigned to the traffic unit."
It happened in the westbound lanes of the Watterson Expressway, back in '96. Officer Hatchell stopped to help what he thought was a stranded motorist but when he turned his back, Hampton fired several shots at him. "They got into a shootout there on the side of the roadway there and the individual he actually ran out of bullets, but he pretended like he was reloading but actually gave up when extra officers got there," says James.
Hampton was eventually convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but was recently released after serving only 15 years.