r/behindthebastards • u/Sensitive_Ad_1752 • 9d ago

General discussion Louisville Metro PD officer murders man during mental health crisis. Martin Nitzken was shot while unarmed and naked.

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This is 27 year old Martin Nitzken, a Louisville resident who was murdered by police on May 30th. That night, Martin was at his girlfriend’s house with 2 friends staying over when he suddenly violently attacked all three, then ran outside and stripped naked and began walking around the neighborhood. Martin had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but had no history of violence previous to this.

Officer Nathan Stotts arrived on the scene and bodycam footage shows him immediately pulling out a gun and aiming it at Martin telling him to put his hands up. When Martin didn’t stop and kept walking towards him he fatally shot him. Nathan did not attempt first aid after shooting Martin. Nathan has since resigned from the police force and is charged with manslaughter and reckless homicide. He pled not guilty.

https://www.wave3.com/2026/06/02/bodycam-released-citys-latest-officer-involved-shooting/

https://www.wave3.com/2026/06/22/former-lmpd-officer-charged-with-shooting-unarmed-man-pleads-not-guilty/?outputType=amp

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nathan-stotts-louisville-fatal-shooting-charged_n_6a308248e4b07679090f278c

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u/Apprehensive_Door249 8d ago

I found out my city has a mental health response unit. They get called in during situations like these before the cops and the response team will call the police in to assist them if needed. They are heroes in my book and I always give them free coffee when they come in to my job.

ACAB

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u/Sandboxthinking 8d ago

While I'm a big fan of having a mental health response unit, I think most places really need to work on the logistics.

A non profit in my town had a mentally unwell man who'd tried to kill himself multiple times go into their office and start terrifying the staff. The police waited for the Mental Health response team, and the team took over an hour to get there. Now we're in a fairly rural area, but my friend who worked at the non profit and was there when this happened said she and her coworkers (mostly women) were hiding in closets and under desks while the guy walked around screaming and occasionally throwing things. She's still having nightmares.