The latest fatal shooting occurred near 38th Street and Keystone Avenue. We're told an IMPD officer stopped to question two men in a parked car around 6:30 p.m. yesterday in Washington Park near 34th and North Dearborn Streets. The car was reportedly parked illegal. IMPD spokesman Kendale Adams said the two men were uncooperative when the police officer began questioning them, and the car pulled away from the scene at a low rate of speed. The officer began pursuing the car, which eventually turned down an alley, crashed through two fences and ended in someone's backyard. Two other officers had joined the pursuit at this point and had their guns drawn at the scene. The driver first exits the car after being ordered out of the car by police officers with guns drawn before returning to it and attempting to put the car in reverse, allegedly heading towards the officers. One officer fired shots into the car, killing the passenger instantly. Citizen eyewitness accounts of the shooting seemed to vary regarding the events leading up to the shooting.
So were the two men armed? That question wasn't answered in any of the media reports I read. Is the vehicle a weapon? Yes, if it's being used as a deadly weapon to run down an officer. Was that the case? We only have the officers' word at this point that was the driver's intent. Was the passenger driving the vehicle? Obviously not. Why shoot the passenger instead of the driver if you were trying to stop the use of the vehicle as a deadly weapon? At the end of the day, one man is dead and another man is in police custody for what began as nothing more than an illegally parked car. Neither the dead man nor the man in police custody has been identified. The facts aren't a whole lot different from the facts a couple of months ago when Mack Long was shot and killed by a police officer after he fled on foot following a minor traffic stop. Perhaps both police shootings were justified. Who knows? As with the latest shooting, police accounts of what happened didn't necessarily jive with what witnesses saw. In Mack Long's case, initial police reports that Long had fired the first shots turned out to be completely untrue. He fired no shots, although he was supposedly armed. What we know is that nobody seems to be asking the tough questions to get basic answers to ascertain any presumptions regarding the justification of the shootings. That's disturbing.
UPDATE: Police have now identified the driver of the car as 41-year old Matthew Cole of Indianapolis. A quick check of Indiana's online criminal records does not reveal any serious prior arrests. He's identified as being homeless. He's charged with a felony for resisting law enforcement with the use of a vehicle and operating a vehicle without a license. The victim of the police shooting was 34-year old Joshua Dyer of Huntington.
17 comments:
More cops for Death Row.
I wonder how many people have started to casually slide their hand over their gun in interactions with police, just in case?
The trick is to hire a black police chief. That's all it takes to silence folks like Amos Brown who normally ask the tough questions.
Actually Anonymous 9:08am Amos is the only broadcaster so far to question IMPD's story regarding Mr. Long's shooting death. Amos has brought up the question several times - going as far as interviewing Mr. Long's ex-wife on air several weeks ago. Really don't think Chief Hite's blackness is at all relevant. Your statement could be referred to as "race baiting".
Just want to warn everyone that there's a huge PIGFEST going on at 465 and Keystone. About 10 pigs are on both sides of 465, giving as many tickets as they can. It's carnage out there.
Everyone be safe and careful from THE PIGS.
I just heard that Hogsett is planning on hiring 150 more pigs to combat Indy's "crime epidemic."
Just what good are 150 pigs writing tickets going to do for crime, Joe?
Anon 12:23- You got it brother! And the pigs aren't only grazing at that portion of 465-N-- I've seen increasingly that they've been mud rolling their stereotypical fatted pork bellies in dual directions all along the belt. I dislike saying this, let alone having come to believe it because of their actions, but I no longer have much respect for pigs or "their" laws anymore. Nope... and I don't want to hear the hogwash about how the pigs protect me and how they risk their life, and how they keep the road ways safe from serial speeders, etc. Pigs have the sties they made- it was their choice to be a pig and perform the valuable service to their community tossing out sky-high traffic ticket fines.... so, no "pigs are heroes" rebuttal crap, please. We are all at danger in Marion County where crime is growing (regardless of what Head Pig Greg Ballard and his Administration Piglets oink). The pigs only shepherd the crime and process the perps. With the glowing examples of our politicians and attorneys breaking the laws they want everyone else to obey- from corrupt Mayor Greg Ballard to huckster attorney Greg Garrision (who should have been charged and processed himself)- is it any wonder all the pigs can do is work dual sides of a highway amassing lucre for their corrupt superiors and the jerk-ass judges in the traffic courts? Me, bitter about a legal/judicial/militaried pig system corrupted by skank attorneys and politicians? Nah....
Really Gary? You are allowing this blog to become this??
I guess I can now quit following this blog. These comments disgust me.
You probably won't be reading anything then because the comments here are more tame than what I read on the Star's website and other news sites. I try not to block comments simply because I disagree with the commenter's perspective.
Is it city cops pulling people over on 465 and Keystone? Because what I've seen lately in force has been state cops, which would be outside of Hogsett's control.
And Anon 12:23 - Do you need your diaper changed? It sounds like you're throwing quite the fit. Waaa Waaaa!!!
Or perhaps they could've not fled(at whatever speed) the scene to begin with? Why has an entire segment of our society decided they just plain refuse to comply when interacting with the police???
When the facts come out, everyone will see exactly why the officer was forced to do what he did. You idiots think you know everything from a news report. Your stupidity is an embarrassment to this city, your family and you.
The facts never come out, unless IMPD can spin them. Before we get the facts of this case, the pigs first have to give us all the facts in the Mack Long case.
Everything.
i went across the bridge and noticed 7-9 cops all targeting 'speeders' below and radioing to other officers.
first, 465 is 55mph. they could do this every day of the week. cops do minimum of 70mph when they are driving on this highway. these cops are doing an injustice to themselves as they killing any public support they may have. protect and server my *ss.
cops today have become glorified tax collectors. this is nothing more than a push for revenue. good luck gaining any respect from general public when they take tactics like this.
the distrust among public is increasing, and cops arent' doing themselves any good.
Shame on the judge who doesn't throw every one of these 465 speeding tickets out.
Never forget that judges are as guilty as the cops.
Anon 2:34
I'll bet you received a ticket, went to court to fight it, and the judge found you guilty., and this is your way to vent
Poor Joshua Dyer. I wonder for how much money the City will settle for his wrongful death suit.
How shameful that some of you automatically assume the police are wrong. If you're not doing anything wrong, what is there to run from?
I respect our police until they prove they've done something to be chastised for. To those of you who think being the police is easy, go to their academy and put on a uniform. I personally think that every citizen should be required to go to the military or be a police officer for 4 years before college or a private sector job. No exceptions.
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