On Wednesday evening, police officers fatally shot veteran, Sean Reed following a police chase. However, many were tuned in as the incident was caught on Facebook Live.
Investigators allegedly found a gun near the suspect, however, it is not clear if he had a permit.
“Maybe if they weren’t here, we could get some more information,” said Tiona Reed, the victim’s aunt to the Indianapolis Star.
https://youtu.be/bfoQYngp-dc
According to police, the chase began when first officers observed a vehicle driving recklessly on Interstate 65. Apparently, the victim had been driving at speeds close to 90 miles per hour.
Deputy Chief Kendale Adams was driving an unmarked police vehicle and began following after he allegedly saw a Toyota Corolla driving recklessly. He claims the Corolla almost hit another car and called for back-up.
Chief Randal Taylor then joined the pursuit.
When marked police vehicles arrived, Adams and Taylor left, which is allegedly standard procedure for unmarked vehicles. After about 10 minutes, an Indianapolis police sergeant ordered the pursuit to end.
Apparently, the car was driving too fast.
However, an officer saw Reed parked at a business, he left his vehicle, and they both started running until there was a confrontation.
What happened next is unclear but the officer’s taser was deployed at some point. Next the officer called in the shooting.
Both Reed and the officer are black.
Social Media May Hold The Truth
A video circulating on social media seems to show Reed’s vantage point during a Facebook Live recording. A young, shirtless man is seen 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.
“Almost lost him y’all!” the man says. “Almost got rid of his ass!”
Later, the man is laughing, thinking that he lost the chasing officer.
“I’m not going to jail today!” he says.
At some point our country must meaningfully acknowledge that the killings of
Ahmaud Arbery,
Sean Reed,
Sandra Bland,
Tamir Rice,
Trayvon Martin,
Eric Garner,
Rekia Boyd,
Tanisha Anderson,and countless others are not isolated incidents or “bad apples.”
It is systemic violence.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 7, 2020
Next the man is trying to figure out where he has driven. He then parks the car and leaves his vehicle. After being confused where he is at, the unforeseeable happens.
The sound of a cacophony of gunshots ring out. By this time, more than 4,000 people were watching the Facebook Live.
The is at least the fourth shooting involving an Indianapolis police officer this year.
More than 100 people gathered at the scene after the shooting. the chants were the same, “No justice, no peace.”
It is a scene that is seen way too often in communities of color.
