JANUARY 11 INCIDENT INVOLVING DISABLED RUSSELL COUNTY, KY. MAN WHOSE FAMILY STATED THAT PERSON WHO CALLED 911 REPORTED THEY TOLD EMERGENCY OFFICIALS THAT THE MAN WAS DEAF, BUT POLICE DID NOT BRING ANYONE WHO COULD SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRET THE DISABLED MAN
JANUARY 20, 2026 – written by WADE QUEEN
CODY WAYNE DOWNEY, 29, OF RUSSELL SPRINGS, KY, WAS SHOT AND KILLED BY A DANVILLE POLICE OFFICER IN BOYLE COUNTY, KY. ON SUNDAY, JAN 11, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS DISABLED DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO HEAR.
A Russell County, Kentucky man who was reportedly hearing impaired and was allegedly suicidal according to a caller to 911 was shot and killed by a police officer in Boyle County after he charged at officers with a knife,
According to the state police report, the Kentucky State Police (KSP) Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) had been requested by KSP Post Post 7 in Richmond in Madison County to investigate an officer-involved shooting that occurred on Sunday, January 11, 2026, around 9:40 A.M., E.S.T. (Eastern Standard Time0, in Boyle County.
The preliminary investigation indicates that the Danville Police Department received a call about an armed, suicidal subject at an apartment complex located at Centre Estates Drive in Danville, Ky. When officers arrived, the individual, later identified as Cody Wayne Downey, 29, of Russell Springs, KY., charged at officers with a knife. One officer fired his agency issued weapon, striking Mr. Downey. Officers performed life-saving measures until EMS arrived and transported Cody Downey to Ephraim McDowell Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased by the Boyle County Coroner’s Office. No officers were injured during this incident.
The investigation into the law enforcement fatal shooting incident in Danville remains ongoing.
The Kentucky State Police has statewide jurisdiction and investigates officer-involved shootings throughout the commonwealth as requested by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. KSP is committed to being transparent while ensuring the integrity of the investigation. To protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation, it is KSP’s standard operating procedure not to release specific details until vital witnesses have been interviewed and pertinent facts gathered. Timelines to complete investigations vary based on the complexity of the case.
FAMILY OF MAN KILLED BY DANVILLE POLICE WAS DEAF, COULD NOT HEAR THE OFFICER’S COMMANDS
The family of a man shot and killed by Danville Police Sunday night says he was deaf and unable to hear officers’ commands before the deadly shooting
Cody Downey, who was 29 years old. was killed after police responded to a 911 call reporting he was harming himself with a knife. According to Kentucky State Police, Danville officers went to Downey’s apartment, he allegedly charged at them with the knife, and an officer shot and killed him.
Kisha Darnell, Cody Downey’s sister, said her brother was deaf and she believes he would have listened to police officers’ commands if he could hear them.
THE POLICE RESPONSE AND INVESTIGATION
The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave. The Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team is investigating.
Cody Downey’s sister said she was told the person who called 911 informed dispatchers that Cody Downey was deaf.
Media outlets in central Kentucky have filed open records requests for the 911 call, but the city of Danville has not yet responded, as well as no responses to requested body camera footage of the incident.
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES DURING THE DEADLY INCIDENT
Kisha Darnell said her brother Cody Downey wore hearing aids but still struggled to hear even with them in his ears.
“Even with a hearing aid in, it was very muffled for him. You would still have to get in his ear and pretty much yell what you were trying to say to him. He read lips a lot, so I just can’t imagine what was going through his mind when you know supposedly his door was busted in,” Kisha Darnell said.
Kisha Darnel said there was no ASL American Sign Language) interpreter at the scene when Cody Downey was killed.
“Danville has a big deaf community. So, it’s just hard to believe that, you know, they didn’t take any kind of protocol on that,” Kisha Darnell said. “That’s really been bothering me because if they were told, which apparently they were, then that could have been handled differently.”
The family says they have not received details about the investigation from the Danville Police Department or the Kentucky State Police.
“We’ve not been told anything. We just keep being told that it’s under investigation,” Kisha Darnell said. “The only thing the family is really wanting is just full transparency of this and the truth and justice for Cody and to bring awareness for, you know, other calls that are made from now,” said Kisha Darnell.
Media outlets in the regional area have contacted the Kentucky State Police and the Danville Police to ask them about Kisha Darnell’s claims.
Kentucky State Police say they have no further comment as the investigation remains ongoing. The Danville Police Department have not responded to media requests about the claims by Kisha Darnell
