Indianapolis police believe a man who was fatally shot by an officer streamed his own death on Facebook Live on Wednesday. As USA Today reports, the 21-year-old man was identified by the Marion County coroner's office as Dreasjon "Sean" Reed, and he was shot by police after he was involved in a 90 mph car chase. Officers said they attempted to avoid using lethal force and claim they only fired after he shot at them. They have not, however, confirmed whether he is the same man in the Facebook Live video, which has circulated on social media over the past week.
Reed's 37-year-old aunt Tiona said the family has not received any information as to what happened. "Maybe if [bystanders] weren't here, we could get some information," she explained as a crowd of over 100 people gathered on a road near where the shooting took place. Deputy Chief Kendale Adams said he spotted a Toyota Corolla driving reckleslly, prompting him to give chase. He was later joined by Chief Randal Taylor in another car. When marked police vehicles joined in, Adams and Taylor left as per standard procedure.
When the suspect parked his vehicle at a business, he started running and had a confrontation with an officier, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Chris Bailey said. It was not explained further what happened, but the officer did use their taser at some point. Police maintain that the suspect exchange gunfire with the authorities, but some on social media have used the Facebook Live stream to claim otherwise.
The moment in question was captured by one Twitter user and shared. Shots were fired as the stream continued, while police reportedly said, "Looks like he's going to have a closed casket."
His family and close friends arrived at the scene as the stream continued, with their cries heard in the background. It is unclear at what point the police realized he was still streaming on Facebook Live.
Across the videos, the man can be seen laughing as he drove away from police. "I'm not going to jail today," he shouted at one point. When the shooting took place on the stream, one or two loud pops were heard as the man dropped his phone. There was silence for a brief moment, followed by two more loud bangs.
Police have said they are aware of the videos circulating, but would not confirm whether they were authentic.
Clips from the hour-long stream are available below; be warned that the graphic content may be upsetting.
