Police release more details of deadly officer-involved shooting
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police have released more information about an officer-involved shooting that left one man dead Friday night.
Police say two officers involved in the shooting and a third FLEX officer who witnessed the shooting are now on administrative leave.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Bryan Roach said none of the officers involved have given any statements that can be used in court, but the department wants to be as transparent as possible with the information they do have.
The investigation is ongoing and no body camera footage captured the incident. Police say they only have information from the officers involved in the shooting and the FLEX officer who witnessed it.
Police say all of the stories and the crime scene match up.
Chief Roach said Friday night, a FLEX officer witnessed a drug deal near 42nd and Brentwood.
The officer called for backup, then pulled the vehicle involved in the drug deal over. Roach said when the FLEX officer asked for identification, the passenger, 45-year-old Deshan Downing, lied about who he was.
The driver of the vehicle was not injured and was not arrested.
Once backup arrived, the FLEX officer tried to get Downing out of the car. That’s when he said Downing reached for his waistband.
“The officer says he saw the gun as he came across,” Roach said. “When he pushes off to create distance, he hears the other two officers making commands and shooting. He hears shots. Doesn’t know weather it came from the passenger or the officers. He just hears shooting.”
Roach said much of the FLEX officer’s statement checks out, like how Downing’s body was positioned and how he was shot multiple times on his left side, which would have been possible from the angle of the shooting.
But there are still things that need to be explained.
For example, there were two handguns at the scene, one inside the car and one outside on the driver’s side, not the passenger’s side where Downing got out.
“So, those are still, those are still answers that we don’t have,” Roach said. “Both those guns are in the process of being processed- if I can say that. We’ll look at DNA on those guns and we’ll look at fingerprints.”
Roach said body cameras would have helped to paint a complete picture of what happened.
“Certainly disappointed that the officers, that we didn’t have that additional evidence, but at the same time, we’ve got to be mindful that those cameras don’t pick up everything,” Roach said. “It would have been an additional piece of evidence, but I can’t sit here and tell you that that would have been the perfect scenario.”
Police said they should be seeing some new information in the next week or so as results come in. News 8 will provide those updates once they become available.
