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Man facing charges in incident where IMPD officer fired shots

Trevin Wheatley has a warrant out for his arrest on charges of resisting law enforcement.

INDIANAPOLIS — A man is facing resisting law enforcement charges in an incident that led an IMPD officer to fire shots on Dec. 9.

Trevin Wheatley has a warrant out for his arrest on the charges.

According to police, they were working a funeral of a homicide victim to make sure there was no further violence.

Officers said they observed an SUV changing lanes without using its signal near 33rd and Illinois streets.

Officers claim they smelled marijuana in the SUV and asked the driver and passengers to step out.

That's when IMPD said Wheatley, a passenger, pushed or hit an officer and took off running.

That officer then chased after Wheatley to a dead-end area. The officer said they saw Wheatley reaching into a pocket and ordered him to show his hands.

According to court documents, Wheatley said he was trying to get rid of a gun he had on him and that, as he was throwing it, a shot was fired. 

IMPD said that as the officer saw the gun, the officer fired two shots at Wheatley. The officer's gun then jammed and Wheatley was taken into custody.

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Wheatley's gun was found near a fence where he had thrown it.

Police also took a second suspect, the driver of the SUV, into custody, but a third got away.

IMPD said the officers involved were wearing body cameras and that video will be reviewed as part of the investigation. In a timeline of events, IMPD claims that from when Wheatley ran, to when the shots were fired, took just 21 seconds. The timeline also claims from when Wheatley went to throw his gun and it fired and the officer fired shots, only took two seconds.

The officer who fired his gun during the incident has been placed on administrative leave, per department protocol. An administrative investigation into the shooting will be conducted by IMPD Internal Affairs, the department said.

Once the criminal process in this case has concluded, the shooting will be reviewed by the civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board. This review is mandatory in cases where potentially deadly force is used against a person.

IMPD is asking anyone who might have witnessed what happened to contact Detective Erika Jones at 317-327-3475 or by e-mail at Erika.Jones@indy.gov. Anonymous tips can be called into Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS.

Illinois Street was closed down between 32nd and 34th streets as police investigated and was expected to reopen at 6 p.m. Friday.

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