After police shot 911 caller's grandson, is the community afraid to call for help?

Early Saturday, Indianapolis police shot a man who had a gun near him inside a car − a parked vehicle that was reported suspicious by a homeowner on the east side of Indianapolis. Later, police learned the man who had been shot was related to that same homeowner, who called 911 in the first place not knowing the stranger in the car was not a stranger, but rather, her grandson.

The weekend police shooting is not the first time an Indianapolis family has called for help, only to have their encounter escalate into use-of-force.

The Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, along with Indy10 Black Lives Matter, have raised concerns in the aftermath of Saturday's police shooting on Oxford Street about the ramifications the incident may have on community relations and police — particularly the shooting eroding trust with residents about calling for help since similar scenarios have played out in the city before.

"We're beginning to be traumatized by this," Concerned Clergy President David Greene Sr. said, adding the city cannot have people at all reluctant to make phone calls for first responders.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment about the police shooting.

On April 25 last year, well before the shooting on Oxford Street, the Whitfield family called 911 after their son, 39-year-old Herman Whitfield III, began walking around their northeast-side home naked and mumbling. The family previously told IndyStar it was the first mental health crisis they've witnessed from him.

Five Indianapolis police officers and a recruit trainee arrived at the Whitfield’s home. In portions of body camera footage released by police, the man's father, Herman Whitfield Jr. can be heard asking the police about an ambulance. For roughly 10 minutes, Herman Whitfield III walked around the house as officers and his parents tried to calm him down. When he moved from the kitchen to the living room, an officer tased him.

Herman Whitfield III fell to the floor from the shock and screamed “fire, fire.” Police then put him face down on the ground and double-handcuffed him. He stayed there for minutes until he became unresponsive. He died later at a hospital. The coroner ruled he died from heart failure while under law enforcement restraint and electrical weapon use. His death was ruled a homicide.

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The family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit this summer against the city of Indianapolis and the responding officers. The litigation remains pending in court.

With the wounds from Herman Whitfield III’s death still fresh, the police shooting of a 911 caller's grandson has further rocked community leaders. Details about the shooting remain scant as the investigation continues, though, in the latest update, police said detectives determined the homeowner and officers did not know the man inside the reported car was the woman's grandson. They also learned the injured man had been driving a rental car, thus making it unfamiliar.

Despite what's been announced, Greene said he can’t help but wonder about adverse outcomes.

“What do you think the Black community is going to be saying? ‘Do I call the police or not?’” Greene pondered. “I don’t want people to traffic down that path … I want people to call 911.”

In a statement, Indy10 Black Lives Matter agreed about the potential ramifications of the shooting. They also noted they continue to see a lack of accountability when a use-of-force case arises by police.

“IMPD keeps getting more funding, and it hasn’t made their practices safer,” the group said. “We keep hearing how things will improve, but each year it keeps getting worse.”

Greene further said he doesn't believe the fact that the man who was shot by police had a gun justified three officers firing their weapons. According to the latest information by officials, it's unclear if the gun was in the man's hand, and police do not believe he fired the handgun.

“That does not justify that magnitude,” Greene said. “The community is looking at this like, ‘We can’t continue to see this.’”

Whitfield’s death renewed calls for a more robust mental health response by the city. When it comes to the shooting on Oxford Street, Greene said the Concerned Clergy hope to see accountability about whether the department's training was followed. Indy10 Black Lives Matter reiterated its long-standing goal they hope to see Indianapolis police defunded.

The police shooting remains under investigation by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and Indianapolis police’s Internal Affairs Unit. The officers who fired their guns are on administrative leave, per standard procedure in such scenarios.

Contact Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Concerns about 911 hesitancy raised after Indy police shooting