INDIANAPOLIS — The IMPD has released a critical incident video, which details the circumstances around an officer-involved shooting at a sports bar on Indy's west side. It happened Saturday, Nov. 14 in the parking lot of El Chila Sports Bar.
Keith Ortega and Roberto Sanchez, the two officers involved in the shooting, were off-duty with IMPD at the time of the shooting. Security guards at the bar alerted them about a disturbance just after 2 a.m., and they found 19-year-old Luis Suarez in the parking lot, pointing a gun at customers near the entrance of the bar.
According to IMPD, both Ortega and Sanchez ordered Suarez to drop his weapon multiple times, but he didn't, and both officers shot at him. He ran away, and the officers chased him. In dispatch audio on the video, the officers can be heard asking Suarez to stop running and put the gun down. Officers caught up with him after a short chase.
Responding officers immediately began giving aid for a gunshot wound near Suarez's armpit, then medics arrived and took him to the hospital. He is expected to survive his injuries.
Surveillance video from the bar shows Suarez being escorted out, followed by another group of people, and and a physical altercation breaks out. Someone punches Suarez, and that's when Suarez goes to get a gun out of a vehicle and started pointing it at the group.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic images of the incident. It may not be appropriate for all viewers.
The video released by IMPD slows down the surveillance footage to show Suarez pointing a gun at the group of people gathered near the front of the bar.
It also includes body camera footage from Officer Ortega. IMPD said Officer Sanchez was not yet equipped with a body camera at the time of the incident due to his normal duty assignment as a detective.
Police found a gun in the parking lot of the bar, where Suarez was pointing it at other customers. He was arrested on charges of pointing a firearm, criminal recklessness, and carrying a handgun without a license.
Officers Ortega and Sanchez are on administrative leave, which is standard procedure. IMPD's internal affairs will conduct a separate, independent investigation into their actions.
