Indianapolis police have released edited footage from an October incident in which an officer shot a suspect sitting inside a parked car. The incident occurred on October 19 at a Speedway gas station on Shelby Street. According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), officers had just finished an unrelated robbery investigation when a person approached them and informed them that a wanted man was inside a car parked at a filling pump. The suspect, identified as Antoine Beech, was found sitting in a white Chevrolet Impala. The officers approached the car from different angles, and one officer, Ryan Thomas, fired his firearm through the car windshield. The edited footage from the one officer whose bodycam was activated shows the officers yelling at Beech to raise his hands before the shot is fired. Beech was shot in his right hand and had a laceration to his chest. He was later arrested on warrants for dealing cocaine, resisting law enforcement, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. The IMPD released a photo of a gun they claim Beech had, although it was not visible in the bodycam footage. The IMPD Critical Incident Response Team is conducting a criminal investigation, while the Use of Force Review Board will conduct a mandatory hearing. Beech’s attorney released a statement expressing doubts about the reasonableness of Officer Thomas’ actions. This incident is one of several police-involved shootings that have occurred in Indianapolis in recent months. IMPD has investigated 17 officer-involved shootings so far this year. No other civilians or officers were injured in this incident.
