'A different level': IMPD investigating 26 threats against officers after fatal shootings

Ryan Martin
Indianapolis Star

Indianapolis detectives are investigating at least 26 threats made against officers following two fatal police shootings last week, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Randal Taylor told IndyStar on Wednesday. 

Because of those threats, Taylor said, IMPD is withholding the names of five officers involved in the shootings as well as the detective recorded joking about a suspect's dead body.

Because of heightened safety concerns, rank-and-file officers have received instructions this week on how to protect their identities on social media and what steps to take to remove their home addresses from web searches. 

"My concern is for our officers and their family's safety," Taylor told IndyStar, "especially if you're talking about people showing up at their residences."

IMPD Chief Randal Taylor listens to family of Dreasjon Reed during a protest on Michigan Road, Thursday, May 7, 2020. The protest was for the fatal IMPD shooting of Dreasjon Reed killed Wednesday following a police pursuit on the city's northwest side. After exiting his car, near 62nd and Michigan, police say Reed began to run. The officer first attempted to tase him, then shot. The incident was recorded on Facebook Live.

The threat investigations, and the response from the command staff, comes as IMPD is still reeling from the recent line-of-duty death of Officer Breann Leath and a heightened awareness after four officers faced what, Taylor said, appeared to be an ambush-style attack preceding one of the shootings last week.

Taylor's decision to withhold the officers' names also illustrates a narrowing tight-rope he is attempting to walk between his duty to protect his officers and his stated commitment to be transparent with the community.

Many community activists and neighborhood organizers, who have been vocal at the scene of planned demonstrations over the past week, have repeatedly discouraged participants from making threats. 

That said, they believe strongly the names of the officers should be released in the fatal shootings of 21-year-old Dreasjon Reed and 19-year-old McHale Rose. 

"This type of transparency must be prioritized to make necessary changes in policies, discipline and practice," Indy10 Black Lives Matter said in a statement to IndyStar. "As the community works through their grief and rage upon hearing the news of Dreasjon Reed’s killing, they have expressed that grief and rage. As people gather to engage in protest, we have discouraged threats to officers as well as unnecessarily engaging the police." 

Dreasjon Reed's family:No violence in Reed's name

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'I think we got him'  

It's well-known among police officers that they are going to hear insults and trash talk as part of their job. And any time there is a controversial incident where an officer uses force, it is common to see chatter on Facebook that can alarm an officer's family.

Taylor said the 26 incidents being investigated by IMPD, though, contain a higher level of threatening behavior and, in some cases, those threats are being made against specific people.

One officer has received death threats on his cell phone. Some officers' homes are being recorded on camera. Other messages are being sent through Facebook. 

"When those threats seem to become more intimate, more specific, and you add that along with people driving by your house or something like that, then that causes more concern, obviously," Taylor said. 

One video, reviewed by IndyStar, appeared to be recorded at the shooting scene at 62nd Street and Michigan Road on the night Reed died. 

Well-wishers and media make images of a memorial at a press conference by family and legal counsel  near 62nd Street and Michigan Road in Indianapolis on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, following the May 6 police shooting death of Dreasjon Reed.

IMPD said an officer, who is a Northwest District patrol officer with four years of experience, unsuccessfully used his stun gun before exchanging gunfire with Reed. Taylor said a handgun found at the scene matched one held by Reed in his social media photos. 

A crowd of at least 100 people gathered that night in an animated and, at times, emotional response. In the video, posted as a Facebook Live, a man expressed his frustration at Reed's death before appearing to encourage retribution against police officers.

"It is time for us to start arming ourselves," the man said. "I'm about sick and tired of these folks shooting us down and there's no response. When they shoot down one of us, we ought to shoot down 10 of them. I'm saying it's time for us to stand up and say enough."

In another Facebook Live video, taken during the daytime, a man records himself outside of a police officer's home. He appears to be trying to find whichever officer fatally shot Reed. 

He turned onto a residential street, he told viewers, when he saw two vehicles from news media leaving a home. Then he flipped the camera around to show what appears to be an IMPD patrol car parked in front a house.

"We got you," he said. "Them news crews definitely just left from that (expletive). I don't know if it's him, because I ain't seen, but I'm going to be peeping. I think we got him."  

He also zooms in on a woman, who is standing outside of the home.

She appears to be unaware she is being recorded. 

Unanswered questions

After many fatal shootings in the past, IMPD leadership has released the officers' names to the public. 

Not only is Taylor deciding against releasing their names, he also is declining to provide many details about the two shootings, such as the types of guns found at the shooting scenes, how many shots were fired and where the suspects were struck. 

Taylor said he has been instructed by prosecutors to refer questions about the investigation to them. 

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears remains in control of the investigation into the police shooting of McHale, but has sought the appointment of a special prosecutor in the Reed shooting, citing a conflict of interest stemming from Mears' professional relationship with Taylor. That appointment has not been made yet by the courts. 

Taylor, also, will not provide specific details about the disciplinary action for an IMPD detective recorded saying of Reed's body: "I think it's going to be a closed casket, homie."

Taylor would only say the man received a suspension of numerous days, and has been reassigned to another unit. He would not say how many days, or which units the officer worked for. 

IMPD did release the ranks and years of experience for the involved officers, however. The four patrol officers who fatally shot McHale had 39, 19, 14 and 1.5 years of experience on the force, IMPD said. 

Command staff response

After learning of the threats made to officers, Taylor sent a video this week to officers, urging them to report any concerning behavior they witness.

"Threats made to you are not right," Taylor told them, "and they will not be tolerated."

Two memos, sent by command staff Monday and Tuesday, also outlined what officers could do to hide their police affiliation on social media and conceal their home addresses from web searches. 

Officers have been encouraged to notify their families of steps they, too, can take to protect their privacy on social media. 

In interviews with IndyStar, and in conversations on social media, local law enforcement have described the extra precautions they are taking. Some are buying home security systems, for example, or considering no longer leaving their take-home patrol cars in front of their homes. 

None of the threats have led to criminal charges yet, Taylor confirmed, but they are still under investigation.   

"When you're talking now about killing officers or injuring them or ambushing them, or you're talking about showing up at their private residences, filming them and their family and stuff, that is indeed a different level," Taylor said. "Trust me, if these investigations lead to a point where an arrest can be made, I'll certainly authorize that." 

Contact IndyStar investigative reporter Ryan Martin at ryan.martin@indystar.com or by phone, Signal or WhatsApp at 317-500-4897. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter: @ryanmartin.