INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has released body-worn camera footage of IMPD officers shooting a man who had been sleeping in a car in his grandma’s driveway.
IMPD officers were called around 4 a.m. on Dec. 31st to the 3600 block of North Oxford Street on the city’s near northeast side after a woman had reported that an unknown car was parked in her driveway.
Inside the car, officers saw 24-year-old Anthony Maclin asleep with a gun in his lap, which has been confirmed by Maclin. Over the course of around 3 minutes, officers attempted to wake him with flashlights and by tapping on the car window.
Once he came to, Maclin started moving around.
The edited bodycam footage shows IMPD officers then fired dozens of shots into the car. Maclin was struck 3 times and taken to Methodist Hospital.
On the edited bodycam video IMPD had a graphic reading “None of the cameras provided a clear view of the position of the gun after the man woke up and moved his arm.” The department has never said Maclin’s gun was fired.
Soon after the shots were fired, the owner of the house realized the man police shot was her 24-year-old grandson, Maclin, in a rental car with Florida license plates that she did not recognize.
“That’s my grandson,” Maclin’s grandma Vickie Driver can be heard saying in IMPD bodycam footage shortly after the shooting. “I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t want to wake you guys up,” Maclin can be heard saying to his grandmother while on the ground after being shot.
Maclin survived the shooting and was in the hospital for 17 days, requiring six surgeries. He will be out of work for three months. His attorneys noted that he had a firearm in the car and a license to carry it.
On Monday, Maclin’s family filed a tort claim notice to IMPD and the City of Indianapolis alleging excessive use of force and emotional distress.
During Monday’s new conference announcing the tort claim, Maclin’s family and legal team called for IMPD to release unedited body camera footage of the encounter. The footage released by IMPD on Tuesday is edited. That edited video can be viewed here.
Lt. Shane Foley with IMPD said edited versions of bodycam videos are released to provide context.
“People have said we need to understand what has happened. What led up to this,” said Lt. Foley.
Two different groups review the original video and provide input on what they believe should be included.
Lt. Foley said he is unsure how many minutes of video were excluded from the edited version, but the raw video is not released during an investigation.
“While an incident is under investigation, the unedited version of those videos has not been released. I’m not sure why it would not be released once the investigation is concluded,” said Lt. Foley.
On Tuesday night, an attorney representing Maclin and his family released the following statement:
“The video footage released today confirms the officers had no plan whatsoever before surrounding the car with their guns drawn. Why not use other, safer methods to wake him from a distance? As a result of this lack of planning and communication, when they woke Anthony and he moved—something anyone would do when startled awake—all three officers panicked and started shouting at the same time from various positions around the car. One or more officers screamed, “Police” while another officer yelled, “Hands! Hands!” Rather than simply backing away and taking cover, the officers then opened fire for seven full seconds, firing dozens of rounds into the car.
What is more significant is what is not in the video. You never hear an officer yell, “Drop the gun!” When Anthony turns toward the officers and appears to raise his right arm slightly—when one officer was commanding him to raise his hands—you do not see a gun in his right hand. You certainly do not see him pointing a gun at the officers. When the gun was found after the shooting, it was in the driver’s seat where it would be expected to be found if the gun remained in Anthony’s lap during the shooting—not in the passenger seat where the IMPD video implies he was reaching toward with the gun. In the moments after the shooting, not one officer mentions that Anthony pointed a gun at them, even when Anthony moans, “Why did you guys shoot?” Likewise, after the shooting none of the officers used their police radio to report that Anthony threatened them with a gun before they opened fire. Instead, the officers’ actions right after the shooting are much more consistent with them feeling guilty because they realized they just needlessly and recklessly shot a man who was doing nothing wrong.”
Stephen Wagner, Attorney for Anthony Maclin
In addition to the previous statement, the family said they will continue to call for:
- IMPD to release the unedited officer body cam footage of this incident
- IMPD to terminate the employment of officers Chandler, Riley and Gregory
- The Marion County Prosecutor to criminally charge all 3 officers
