WAYNE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The family of the man shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies at his home in Wayne County on Friday wants to make sure the man is remembered, while also making sure the full story about how he died gets out.
“We’ll see what happens when the body camera [footage] gets released,” said Eric A. Patton, the cousin of Jeremy Bertram - the man who Patton said died.
“I don’t want to speak out of turn, but it does appear there may be more to this story than we know at the moment, we need some clarity on exactly what happened because some stories are not lining up.”
He didn't get into specifics, beyond saying that it was pretty clear that more care could have been taken.
When we spoke to Patton on Saturday afternoon, Kentucky State Police, which is leading the investigation, had not yet released any information about the shooting.
At the time, the county coroner provided the only concrete info - saying Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies shot and killed Bertram, 45, on Friday night.
Late Saturday night, KSP released a statement on the shooting.
The statement acknowledges the Wayne County Sheriff’s Offices requested KSP investigate an officer-involved shooting.
The statement does not specify who shot at who, or the circumstances which led up to the shooting.
The statement did say a man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Patton said the way Bertram died has made the grieving process tougher
“It makes it hard that we didn’t get to say goodbye, we had that stolen from us,” Patton said.
“What I want everyone to know is Jeremy was a good man, a good cousin, and I’m going to miss him.”
Bertram had two children from a previous marriage, Patton said. He served in the Navy, completing two tours in Iraq.
He describes Bertram as funny and charming - the type of person who would do anything for anyone.
“He represents the good people who are from here, he just fits right in with the kindness,” Patton said.
The shooting took place on highway 200, not far from the border with Tennessee.
Bertram’s girlfriend was in the house when the shooting took place and was unharmed, the coroner said.
Speaking briefly with LEX 18, she said Bertram always has a gun with him when answering the front door. That was even the case for family members like Josh Guffey, he said - explaining Bertram’s experience as a veteran lead to the practice.
