A large crowd came together in protest near the scene where a black man was fatally shot by police officers in Indianapolis Wednesday night.
Indy Star reports that “between 100 and 150 people” gathered to demand answers as to why 21-year-old Sean Reed was shot and killed in an altercation with police that was livestreamed on Facebook and viewed by thousands.
According to the Washington Post, family members identified Reed to local reporters, saying that they rushed to the scene after seeing Reed’s Facebook Live video, which partially shows what transpired.
“I feel like to lose a life, especially at a young age, there’s never going to be justice,” Reed’s sister Jazmine said. “Cause he’s gone—there’s never justice for that. Even if somebody was to get time or whatever for it, it’s never going to be justice because he’s never coming back. I shouldn’t have to bury my little brother.”
Indianapolis Police Chief Randal Taylor and Deputy Chief Kendale Adams said they pursued Reed because he was “driving at a high rate of speed and disobeying all traffic signals,” according to the Post. Reed’s video provides a look at what he was experiencing in the moments leading up to the shooting.
From Indy Star:
A young, shirtless man is recording himself as he drives.
“You gotta look,” he says, as he positions his camera phone to show what’s behind the moving car. It appears to be a police car that’s tailing him. “It’s just one right now,” the man says to the camera.
It’s hard to tell from the video what is happening. But the audio suggests that the engine is beginning to roar to life.
“Almost lost him y’all!” the man says. “Almost got rid of his ass!”
A little while later, the man is laughing and cheering as he thinks he lost the officer. “I’m not going to jail today!” he shouts.
Moments later, the man is trying to figure out where he has driven.
“What street is this? I’m going to park this (expletive) and get the (expletive) out,” he says. “At 62nd and Michigan, somebody come get my stupid (expletive)!”
He goes on: “Please come get me. Please come get me!” He then appears to park the car and leaves his vehicle. The video, at this point, is unclear. But within 18 seconds, the man is responding to another voice. The man asks: “What’d you say?”
About 11 seconds go by when there is more inaudible shouting.
Then there’s at least one, maybe two, pops. The man appears to either drop his phone, or collapse, or both. He says a cuss word.
Then, as the camera points up toward the blue sky, the sounds of more than a dozen other pops ring out.
A couple seconds tick away. Then there are two more pops.
Assistant Police Chief Chris Bailey said they are aware of the video and that it will be used in the investigation if they deem it necessary, according to the Post.
“Both the officers and the detectives have done their due diligence in preserving that evidence through the proper legal channels, and if it’s associated that there’s information on there that’s appropriate for the investigation, they’ll utilize it,” he said.
Equally disturbing was a post-shooting comment picked up during another part of the video. An unidentified man can be heard off-camera saying, “Looks like it’s going to be a closed casket, homey,” according to the Indy Star. It’s unclear whether the man speaking is a police officer.
The livestreamed video can be viewed below. (Warning: While the video is not graphic, it is disturbing.)