Police fatally shoot a man and laugh about it while he live-streams encounter on Facebook
Discrepancies between the police's statements and what netizens watched on the live stream have drawn widespread criticism online and offline.
By Jisha Joseph
May 8, 2020
An Indianapolis man was fatally shot by a police officer following a high-speed chase Wednesday night while he streamed the encounter live on Facebook. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department claimed its chief and deputy chief noticed a man driving recklessly while they drove home from work at about 6 p.m. Although they reportedly tried to pull him over, the man— identified by the Marion County Coroner's Office as Dreasjon Reed—is said to have refused to stop. The officers pursued him for about 10 minutes before being called off by supervisors.
However, according to The New York Times, about five minutes later he was spotted by another police officer who saw him abandon the car and flee on foot. He chased after Reed and shot and killed him. Family members of the deceased man are now seeking answers, questioning whether the killing was necessary. Speaking to NBC affiliate WTHR, the victim's sister Jazmine Reed lamented, "Just to know it's my little brother... I shouldn't have to bury my little brother." According to her, Reed is a Lawrence North High School graduate who spent a year in the Air Force and was splitting his time between Texas and Indianapolis.
Speaking to reporters at the scene of the incident, Chris Bailey, assistant chief of police, said that Reed had fired first at the officer. He stated that the police officer and Reed were the only ones at the scene during the incident and that they'd found a gun near the deceased man. However, discrepancies between the police's statements and what netizens watched on Facebook live has drawn severe criticism both online and offline. The police said in a statement that there had been an "exchange of gunfire" but did not comment on who fired first or whether a gun was recovered.
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The video then shows Reed running for about 25 seconds before someone shouts something at him. At this point, he shouts back and appears to fall down. 12 loud bangs are heard moments later, followed by two more after a brief pause. About 3,700 people watched the encounter live on Facebook, and heard a man saying "police-action shooting" after the sound of the shots. He is also heard repeatedly saying, "Oh my God" and using expletives. A morbid comment uttered off-camera at this point has drawn wide criticism online as the phone continued to stream live and captured someone saying, "Think it’s going to be a closed casket, homie."
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