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IMPD officers will get body cameras this year, implement 'use of force' review board

IMPD officers will get body cameras this year, implement 'use of force' review board

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — On Tuesday, Mayor Hogsett and IMPD Chief Taylor announced that IMPD officers will be wearing body cameras by the end of summer.

The unexpected announcement comes a week after police shot and killed Dreasjon Reed after a chase.

Hogsett said assuming they are linked is unfair.

“What the events of last week underscore is a tragic set of circumstances that effect our entire community,” Hogsett explained.

Reed streamed his run from police on Facebook live. It is currently under investigation.

When the 21-year-old pulled over and ran from officers, his cell phone camera pointed skyward. It captured the sound of gunfire but not the circumstances.

IMPD insists Reed fired the first shot at an officer before he was killed.

Since then, there have been protests and demands for explanations.

“I know emotions are running high in our city right now," Police Chief Randal Taylor said. “Residents and officers alike have been impacted by the events of last week.”

There have been previous questionable police shootings and demands for body cameras. Officers tested them six years ago.

According to city administrators, the city didn’t have the money to buy them and IMPD lacked the technology to use them effectively.

This year the city council budgeted more than a million dollars to buy cameras. They should start arriving in July.

In addition to body cameras, IMPD is finalizing a new “use of force policy” and a “use of force review board” with civilians serving as members.

“This board will not only look at firearms cases but other types of cases as well,” Hogsett said.

It is the city’s latest effort to instill trust, transparency and accountability among police and a community they are sworn to serve.

A second officer-involved shooting also occurred last week when IMPD officers shot and killed a burglary suspect. The suspect reportedly fired rounds at officers first. That person has been identified as 19-year-old McHale Rose.

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