Mistakes are an unfortunate part of human existence.
There are those little ones, like mistaking salt for sugar in your morning coffee. There are those that result in something brilliant, like when Richard Jones — a naval engineer was experimenting with tension springs and mistakenly invented The Slinky (Sidebar: I love the Slinky.) Then there are those that are disruptive, devastating and just plain terrible — making you feel like they probably shouldn’t be in the same company as toys and condiments.
Earlier this week, IMPD shot a man. A 48-year-old Black man named Carl Williams, to be exact. They are calling it a mistake.
Williams called police after his wife was violently approached by an armed robber in their driveway. The suspect, described as a Black male wearing red and holding a rifle, demanded her keys and threatened her with the rifle before driving off in her car. While on the phone with emergency dispatch, Williams’ wife can be heard sobbing in the background, physically unable to complete sentences. Williams continued to answer the dispatcher’s questions, while attempting to calm his distraught spouse. His frustration and her hurt are nearly palpable. Near the end of the recording, which was released by IMPD Tuesday afternoon, Williams can be heard yelling, “Is that him?”
The “him” Williams was referencing is assumed to be the robbery suspect. To give some more context, the officers dispatched to the scene near the 3600 block of Foxtail Drive arrived in a dark vehicle without sirens and headlights. They reportedly parked away from Williams’ home and approached with their weapons drawn. At the time, Williams was standing outside his home holding a weapon that has since been recovered. It is unclear what police said to him and what his response was, but the incident ended with Williams being rushed to IU Methodist with a gunshot wound to his midsection. He is in serious condition but is expected to survive, thankfully.
I always love it when my hometown makes the national headlines. This, of course, is a moment when I am far from proud. I am thankful IMPD was quick with releasing some of the details of Williams’ shooting, but I do not count that as a victory of any sort. Police being transparent should be a given, though it oftentimes is not the norm. What would be a victory is if this nation, this town could go a considerable amount of time without having to use the words “police-action shooting.”
A couple weeks ago, I attended a very interesting public conversation on policing at Jones Tabernacle. The panel, which consisted of three Black men — a pastor, an IMPD officer and state trooper — discussed the national issues surrounding policing. The audience, made up of Black people of varying ages and professional backgrounds, shared with the panelists their experiences with police in Indianapolis. Many of the experiences were negative — from being cursed out unnecessarily to being profiled during traffic stops. It made me sad to know many of these people had experienced harassment and felt fearful at the sight of police. It angered me that the two officers on the panel chose to be defensive instead of understanding toward those who said they had been treated unfairly by law enforcement.
I don’t believe law enforcement is evil, and I want to believe that one day, maybe the narrative will change surrounding Black people and the police.
At any rate, this seemingly ongoing nightmarish series of events is getting old. We still have yet to see all the facts concerning Mr. Williams, but I do hope the investigation is thorough and justice is served. Mistakes do happen, but we cannot afford to make many more of these.
