The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has released edited bodycam footage of a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred near Lucas Oil Stadium in September. The footage shows officers responding to an armed robbery and engaging with the suspects, resulting in one man’s death and a woman’s critical injury. The incident is under investigation by the IMPD. Tyler Haughn reported
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has recently made public an edited bodycam footage that provides details about a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred near Lucas Oil Stadium in September. The incident took place after officers were called to respond to an armed robbery of a Dollar General store on South Shelby Street. The officers’ response was part of an ongoing investigation into a series of robberies.
SWAT officers were dispatched to the location where the armed robbery took place and found the suspect vehicle, a Silver Buick Lesabre, on South Missouri Street. The edited footage includes images from multiple body-worn cameras as well as footage recorded on a dashboard camera in a police vehicle.
To stop the suspect vehicle, the SWAT officers used a grappler device, successfully bringing it to a halt. At this point, the front passenger, identified as Ricktez Williams, began firing multiple shots at the officers from the passenger window. The edited footage includes still shots from a security camera that captured this moment.
In response to the gunfire, three officers fired back at Williams and the driver, identified as Eriana Morris, as they attempted to flee from the stopped vehicle. During the encounter, Morris informed the officers that she was pregnant. Both Williams and Morris were critically injured and transported to nearby hospitals. Williams later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The Marion County Coroner’s Office determined that his cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, ruling it as a homicide.
Morris was subsequently charged with armed robbery for her alleged involvement in the incident. The officers recovered the gun used by Williams, which was reported stolen in 2022. Fortunately, no officers were injured during the incident.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Critical Incident Response team is currently conducting a criminal investigation into the incident, while the Internal Affairs division is conducting a separate administrative investigation. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, following standard procedure.
A civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will hold a mandatory hearing to review any attempted use of deadly force against a person once the criminal process is concluded.
The article also mentions that the IMPD is seeking a researcher to study officer-involved shootings, and it provides a link to another related news article.
Overall, the released edited bodycam footage sheds light on the events leading up to the fatal officer-involved shooting and provides important context for the ongoing investigations..