'We are concerned': Indianapolis police involved in 9th shooting since Aug. 1
Update: Indianapolis Metropolitan Police on Dec. 8 released a critical incident video summarizing the events leading up to the shooting. This article has been updated with more details from the video. On Oct. 31, officials identified the officer who fired shots as 5-year patrol officer Gunnar Gossett. Darcel Edwards, 35, died from his injuries two days after the shooting.
Previous reporting: A man died from his injuries two days after being shot Oct. 24 on Indianapolis’ north side in the city’s 13th shooting involving police during 2023.
"Our officers are concerned, we are concerned as leadership, we are concerned as a community because there have been a number of officer-involved shootings," said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Kendale Adams. "We're all concerned and we have to work to try to find out if there is some kind of commonality."
Since the start of the year, Indianapolis police have shot 14 people, six of them fatally. In 2022, police shot four people, killing one. The steep increase hasn't gone unnoticed by the Black community, who most often are shot by officers. In early August, after a Black man was fatally shot in the back running from officers, the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis said they lost faith in Police Chief Randal Taylor and sought his resignation. Nine people have been shot by police since and the clergy reiterated its request Tuesday evening. Mayor Joe Hogsett has repeatedly voiced his support of Taylor and the department's officers.
Previous reporting: Indianapolis police shootings highest in years. What is going on?
The latest police shooting took place after an officer in the area of East 25th Street and Dr. Andrew J. Brown Boulevard, near Douglass Park, heard shots fired and then saw a vehicle speeding away around 4:15 a.m., Adams said.
The officer made a traffic stop on the vehicle and then the driver got out of his car and made a comment about another car hitting his vehicle. Police didn't say Tuesday whether his vehicle was struck. The driver then got back into his vehicle and fled. The officer did not pursue the vehicle, but followed it, Adams said.
After losing sight of the vehicle, the officer spotted it near East 25th Street and Columbia Avenue, where it had crashed. Additional police arrived and found the driver, identified as Darcel Edwards, in a tree behind houses, Adams said.
Police asked the man to come down from the tree, while he made comments about having epilepsy and asked about calling his mother. Officers also told him to stop reaching into his pockets and to show them his hands.
"If you do it again, you will be shot," an officer is heard saying in portions of body camera footage released to the public.
Edwards is heard three times telling officers to shoot him.
"Kill me," he said.
"No," the officers replied.
“I’m going to my pocket then, kill me,” Edwards said. Officer Gossett then discharged his firearm, shooting him.
Edwards was transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition. He died two days later. No officers were injured.
Edwards was wearing a holster, but police did not immediately find a firearm belonging to him, Adams said. An "exhaustive" search using canines did not turn up a firearm, either.
Police shootings: Indianapolis police shootings highest in years. What is going on?
Several officers had their body-worn cameras activated during the shooting. IMPD's Critical Incident Response Team is conducting a criminal investigation, while the department's internal affairs unit will conduct a separate administrative investigation.
The civilian-majority use-of-force review board will conduct a mandatory hearing at the conclusion of the criminal investigation.
Gossett has been placed on administrative leave, as is standard procedure.
"When people disobey police or they disobey lawful orders, that's a problem," Adams said. "We have processes in place to identify when officers have not done it right."
Tuesday's shooting is the latest in a string involving Indianapolis police officers in the last few months. Last week, one man was shot by police as officers investigated an unrelated robbery at a gas station on the city's south side.
"There are a lot of questions a lot of us have any time an officer discharges their weapon and someone is struck," Adams said. "We have those same questions and I think those are things we have to try to evaluate and determine is if there some trend. We don't know. We don't know why we are seeing these number of officer-involved shootings."
As a community member, officer and leader in the department, Adams said he has questions about the number of officer shootings in the past few months in Indianapolis.
"It's concerning on both the police and the community," Adams said. "Officers who have to go through the experience have to go through what no one wants. No officer wants to wake up and discharge a firearm."
Aug. 3: Indianapolis police release edited video of officer fatally shooting man after traffic stop
Aug. 27: No 'reason for this to end bad': Witness says police didn't need to kill mentally ill man
Sept. 1: IMPD identifies officers who shot man accused of stabbing police dog
Sept. 19: IMPD identifies officer who shot man after domestic violence call on city's south side
Sept. 22: Two armed robbery suspects shot by Indy SWAT team near Lucas Oil Stadium, one dead
Sept. 26: ISP identifies 3 officers who shot armed man on North Keystone Avenue
Oct. 14 Off-duty Indianapolis police officer shoots person after gunfire erupts at bar and grill
Oct. 19: One man shot, injured by Indianapolis police on city's south side
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis police shooting: Man flees crash before being shot
