Bodycam video shows IMPD officer shoot, kill armed carjacking suspect

INDIANAPOLIS — Indy police have released edited bodycam footage of an officer shooting and killing an armed suspect earlier this year while investigating an armed carjacking.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department released a Critical Incident Video on Friday showing bodycam footage from the May 28 deadly shooting on the city’s northeast side .

The carjacking

IMPD crews had been called around 9:30 a.m. that day to investigate an armed carjacking at a gas station in the 2800 block of Post Road. Security footage shows an armed man wearing a mask get out of a gray sedan with rear-end damage and walk up to a woman sitting in her car.

The man is seen tapping a handgun on the window of the woman’s white 2015 Dodge Charger and forcing her out of the car. The woman told FOX59/CBS4 what happened .

“I got out of my car,” said the victim. “He put a gun to my belly and said, ‘Give me everything’.”

That victim, who asked not to be identified, said the carjacker apologized for threatening her life, while three other suspects remained in their car. He reportedly took the woman’s phone and disabled it.

“I asked him like, ‘Why are you doing this?’ He said, ‘I’m hungry. I need money.’ He said, ‘You’re beautiful, but I’m sorry, but I need money’,” said the victim.

Footage shows the man then getting into the woman’s Charger and driving away, following his three accomplices who were inside the gray sedan.

The shooting

A short time later, IMPD Officer Kirby found both the stolen Charger and the damaged sedan parked at an apartment complex in the 9100 block of Cavalier Court. While waiting for backup, IMPD said Kirby saw a man wearing a mask and pink gloves with a gun in his waistband.

Bodycam footage shows the officer pull his gun and chase after the man – later identified as 20-year-old Jerrett Gray, Jr. – as he ran away. As he gets close to the gray sedan with the three others inside, Gray can be seen on video dropping a gun on the gun as the officer yells for him to stop running.

“On the f***ing ground now,” Kirby said. “Drop the gun!”

Gray is then seen bending down to the ground, picking up the gun and turning toward Officer Kirby. The officer then shoots seven rounds toward the car and Gray. The sedan then pulls away as Gray continues to run on foot.

Officer Kirby can be seen chasing after Gray, continuing to yell at him to stop running as he uses his radio to tell dispatch about the shooting and the fleeing gray car. Gray once again drops a gun and then falls to the ground, reaching for his calf. Kirby then shoots nine more times.

Kirby then approaches Gray, who is lying on the ground and has now put his hands up. On the ground next to him officers found a handgun and a second handgun – equipped with a machine gun conversion device – was found in his waistband.

Additional officers arrived on scene and helped detain Gray and give him medical aid. Gray was then taken to an Indy hospital where he died from his gunshot wounds.

No one else, including Officer Kirby, was hurt in the shooting. The officer was placed on administrative leave as is standard procedure and the shooting is now under review by both internal IMPD groups and a citizen use of deadly force review board.

More arrests

Bodycam footage shows the gray sedan with Gray’s accomplices inside fleeing the apartment complex. While investigators believe Gray was the man who committed the carjacking, the other people in the car were also being sought as suspects.

A short while after the shooting, IMPD officers used license plate readers to track down the damaged sedan in the 300 block of N. Shortridge Road. Detectives observed several individuals believed to be involved in the carjacking get into two separate vehicles and begin to drive away.

Officers then conducted a traffic stop on East 10th Street and arrested 20-year-old Joseph Dauda. According to the affidavit in the case, Dauda admitted to being the getaway driver and was arrested for armed robbery .

During a second traffic stop on N. Shadeland Avenue, police also arrested 20-year-old Damoni Armstrong and a 17-year-old on separate drug and weapons charges unrelated to the carjacking.

During that traffic stop court records show that the officer found a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and, in plain view, detectives could see a rifle on the floorboard.  A further search of the vehicle produced approximately 15 grams of marijuana and a handgun magazine.

Aftermath

In addition to the three arrests, a fourth person was detained for questioning before being released without charges. A jury trial in Dauda’s case is scheduled to begin on Nov. 18 and Armstrong’s jury trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 9.

Police were able to recover the woman’s stolen Charger at the scene of the shooting and it has since been returned to her. As for her feelings after the carjacking, she said at the time that she wished the entire incident never happened.

“It’s sad for both sides,” the victim said . “I don’t know who his family is and I don’t want them to feel like this is all my fault. I was on my way to work. The way I look at it, it could have been me you know.”

To read IMPD’s full statement at the time of the shooting, click here . To watch the entire Critical Incident Video released Friday, click here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 59.