An Indianapolis man apparently live-streamed his encounter with police—which involved a high-speed chase and a foot chase—before it ended in his fatal shooting on Wednesday evening.
According to the Indianapolis Star, following the shooting, which was seen by thousands on Facebook Live, more than 100 people gathered at the scene near West 62nd Street and Michigan Road chanting “no justice, no peace.”
Family have identified the young man as Sean Reed. He was 21.
According to the Star, the incident all started when Deputy Chief Kendale Adams, who was driving an unmarked police car, reportedly witnessed a gray Toyota Corolla being driven recklessly, almost hitting another car.
Adams started a pursuit, asking for assistance from colleagues, with Chief Randal Taylor, who was in another car behind Adams, also joining in the pursuit that went up to 90 miles per hour.
Once marked police cars arrive, both Adams and Taylor stopped pursuing the vehicle, per department protocol.
About ten minutes later, an IMPD sergeant called off the pursuit because of how fast the individual was driving, and officers continued at normal speeds.
One officer, who remains unidentified, saw the car again and a foot chase began shortly after.
In the video taken from Facebook Live, which was titled “High speed chase, lol,” the driver could be heard pleading with someone to “come get my stupid ass.”
“Please come get me!” he repeated, telling everyone his location as he parked the vehicle he was driving and ran out of the car.
The foot chase was brief, with a voice heard yelling in the background, “Stop, stop!” as the driver continued to flee.
“F–k you,” the man replied.
According to an incident report, the officer in question deployed his taser.
The man is seen falling to the ground as his phone falls face up, and then a rapid succession of gunfire is heard. There was a brief pause before two more shots were fired.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer, the only person there at the time of the shooting, was unharmed.
According to the Washington Post, a gun was found near the victim that did not belong to the officer.
In another video taken from the scene as the victim’s phone continues recording, someone is heard quipping in the background, “Looks like it’s going to be a closed casket, homie.”
It is unclear if the individual who made that comment is an officer.
Chris Bailey, a police spokesperson, told reporters that, “It is believed at this time that shots were fired by both the officer and the suspect.”
“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,” Bailey added, noting that police knew of the Facebook Live stream.
The shooting is currently being investigated by the department, and a separate, independent internal investigation is expected to be done as well to review if the officer followed departmental policy, according to the Post.
Meanwhile, Reed’s family is left trying to understand what happened.
“I feel like to lose a life, especially at a young age, it’s never going to be justice,” Reed’s sister, Jazmine Reed told WISH. “Cause he’s gone — it’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.”
Jazmine Reed described her younger brother as a good person who loved his family.
The Lawrence North High School graduate had spent a year in the Air Force, and was splitting his time between Texas and Indianapolis.
“His smile, he was a ladies’ man, for sure. I got a 2-year-old, and she loved her uncle so much,” Reed told WTHR.
“They could have tased him, beat him up,” she added. “He could be behind bars, but now he’ll be in a casket the next time I see him.”