Taylor Stanley (Woodford County Detention Center)
By Scott White
Woodford Sun Staff
Woodford County resident Taylor Stanley was charged on May 23 with obstructing and interfering with a police officer, terroristic threatening and two counts of menacing, all with expressions of anti-Black bias. All of these are misdemeanors.
It is unknown whether federal law enforcement will take the case as a possible hate crime investigation.
According to the Uniform Citation filed by Officer Elijah Jones, police were called to a home on Delaney Ferry Road in response to a “disturbance.” Upon arrival, the brother of Taylor Stanley told police that Stanley was threatening him and beating on their mother’s door.
While interviewing the brother and mother, Stanley came out of the home, began cussing and threatening the officers and his relatives. Police requested Stanley to return to the house three times.
Though he did so once, Stanley came out again, pointing at the officers, rushing towards them and ignoring commands to back off and return inside. Realizing Stanley was not going to stop, police took him to the ground, handcuffed him and transported him to the Woodford County Detention Center, where he remains in custody.
A review of the body-cam footage obtained by the Sun from the Versailles Police Department under the Kentucky Open Records Act corroborates the narrative of Jones set out in the citation. It also shows Stanley repeatedly kicking the clear barrier between the front and back seats of the cruiser, making violent threats to the officers and repeatedly calling racist names, including the “N” word, towards Jones, who is African-American.
Stanley will be arraigned in Woodford County District Court on Wednesday, May 27. He is currently being held on a $2,500 cash bail.
Police declined to comment when asked if the bail amount should be increased at the arraignment.