Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers shot and killed a 15-year-old boy suspected of stealing a car this weekend. Although the police claim that the boy attempted to run over police officers and exited his vehicle holding a gun, a local witness has come forward disputing the official narrative. The family is asking the other witnesses at the scene to step forward and let them know whether the police were justified in shooting him.
Around 11:10 p.m. on Sunday, police officers noticed a car matching the description of a 2013 Nissan Altima that had been reported carjacked. According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), witnesses had reported that the carjackers fired four shots at a bystander while escaping with the car around 10 p.m. When the vehicle pulled into a dead end and tried to make a U-turn, the officers flashed their lights and sirens.
Instead of stopping, the driver of the Nissan allegedly rammed the vehicle into the driver’s side of a patrol car. Although two passengers immediately exited the car and fled on foot, the driver remained in the car refusing to comply with the officers ordering him to step out of the vehicle. As the driver began accelerating towards them, the officers fired on the driver who reportedly exited the car holding a gun before collapsing.
But according to The Indianapolis Star, a local bystander named Allen Eaton witnessed the incident and disputes the officers’ account. While standing on a nearby corner, Eaton asserts that he saw the Nissan backing up and trying to turn around in the cul-de-sac when it bumped into a police car behind it. According to Eaton, the driver was not accelerating towards the officers and did not pose a threat when they shot him to death.
The police identified the deceased driver as 15-year-old Andre Green. The two passengers who fled the vehicle have not been apprehended, but members of Green’s family have asked them to come forward to let the family know whether the shooting was justified or not. Pending an investigation, police have refused to disclose any information about the gun, the speed of his vehicle when he accelerated at the officers, and whether or not Green aimed the gun at the officers.
“We don’t know who else was in the car with him, but we’re asking you, could you please come forward?” Malonda Lamb, who said she is Andre’s cousin, told WISH-TV. “Because you saw. You saw something. You saw them shoot him, you saw them chase him, you saw something. Please come forward.”
During a press conference on Monday, police officials announced that they do not have any video evidence of the shooting. The officers involved were not wearing body cams, and IMPD Lt. Richard Riddle stated that he did not believe the patrol cars had been equipped with dash cams. No one has stepped forward with any cell phone footage of the incident.
“We can say with confidence that officers were faced with aggression, and they met that aggression head-on,” asserted IMPD Officer Chris Wilburn.
The officers involved in the shooting have not been identified and have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
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