A man was critically injured after an IMPD officer shot him out of a tree. This marks the 13th officer-involved shooting for the year. More than half of these incidents occurred after Aug. 1.
There has been an officer-involved shooting in every IMPD district this year.
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The Indianapolis Recorder reported that only two officer-involved shootings occurred in 2022 when it published an initial report on Sept. 7.
IMPD has since updated its data and is now reporting twelve officer-involved shootings.
“We don’t know why we’re seeing these numbers of officer-involved shootings, we have to find out if there is some kind of commonality. We do know that when people disobey the police or they disobey lawful orders, that’s a problem,” said IMPD Deputy Chief Kendale Adams.
According to IMPD, an officer was patrolling the area near East 25th Street and Park Avenue at 4 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24 when he heard gunshots and saw a vehicle speeding away.
The officer pulled the vehicle over for a traffic stop, at which point the car stopped and the driver got out.
Moments later, the driver fled from the officer. As police called to the scene searched for the suspect, they found the vehicle crashed into a pole near 25th Street and Columbia Avenue.
The suspect was found in a tree.
IMPD shot man out of tree in latest officer-involved shooting
“He was making comments about a medical condition and his wellbeing. Officers told him not to reach several times. At some point, the suspect made a comment to the point of, ‘I’m going in my pocket. Kill me,’ and one officer discharged his firearm striking the suspect,” said Adams.
IMPD said that when the suspect reached down, an officer shot the suspect once.
It is uncertain whether the suspect was involved in the shot-fire call.
Officers did not find a weapon on the scene but noted that the suspect had a holster on his person.
This incident is being investigated by the IMPD Critical Incident Response Team, IMPD Internal Affairs and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
Anyone with information should contact Sgt. Michael Duke at the IMPD Homicide Office by calling 317-327-3475. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS.
Contact staff writer Jade Jackson at (317) 762-7853 or by email JadeJ@IndyRecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON
