Seventh day of protests ends in Downtown Indianapolis
Elizabeth DePompei
INDIANAPOLIS — Demonstrators gathered Downtown on Thursday for the seventh consecutive day of Indianapolis protests to speak out against recent police-involved killings of black people, including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Dreasjon Reed in Indianapolis.
Protest comes to an end
Just before 9 p.m., the protest came to an end at Monument Circle. Demonstrations are expected to continue Friday and into the weekend.
'We need monumental change'
Bailey Leib, Hamilton County, said she was marching to hold police accountable.
"I'm going to use my voice and my privilege as a white person and stay out here every day and continue the conversation," she said. "It's time that things change."
In response to Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett's announcement to remove a Confederate monument from Garfield Park, and the news that a special prosecutor had been appointed in the Reed case, Leib said any step forward is progress.
"I'm just tired of them being such baby steps," she said. "We need monumental change, and it needs to have already happened. The fact that we're out here marching because someone was murdered, not only should they have not been murdered, they (police) need to de-escalate a situation and not immediately reach for a gun."
More:What leaders have done or promised since fatal officer-involved shooting
Onlookers show support
As protesters marched along Mass Ave., onlookers showed solidarity. Diners applauded and raised fists as the crowd passed. One onlooker stood on a balcony holding a sign that read, "White Coats 4 Black Lives."
At one point, protesters shouted to bystanders, "walk with us!" At least one person joined.
Kayola Markey painted a mural of Happy, a comic book character by Grant Morrison, on the boarded-up windows of Downtown Comics on East Market Street. She said the protests are long overdue.
"I would definitely like to see some justice come for our people, especially black Americans and Native Americans," she said. "I believe this right here (the murals) gives us some kind of hope for a new beginning.
"I don't know whats to come of it, but hopefully lots of things to blossom from it."
Protesters marching downtown
Roughly 300 people left Monument Circle and began marching Downtown just before 6 p.m. Near the Indiana Statehouse, where there was a heavy police presence, one protester took to the megaphone to demand that officials release the autopsy report for Dreasjon Reed, who was fatally shot by an Indianapolis police officer on May 6.
Indianapolis protests:Police response shifted from tear gas to hugs. What happened?
Later, the speaker said, “For the State Police ... you took an oath to protect and serve the people of the state of Indiana. We are the people."
One sign read, "We're not crying from the tear gas." Another said, "Silence is violence."
At University Park, protesters took a knee and raised their fists as a speaker demanded the officer involved in Reed's shooting be held accountable and that the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department "rewrite the use-of-force policy."
At the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and East Street, protesters formed a circle while a speaker asked "Who's got my back?" to which the crowd responded "I got your back!"
IMPD investigating officer actions
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the actions of several officers captured on video using batons and pepper balls to subdue a woman on a downtown sidewalk Sunday night, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
The video, shared widely on Twitter and Facebook, recorded what happened to two women arrested by officers at the corner of North Pennsylvania and East Washington streets sometime before 9 p.m. Sunday.
Sgt. Grace Sibley, a department spokeswoman, said IMPD has opened an internal investigation but declined an IndyStar interview request to provide additional information.
Back at Monument Circle
A crowd of around 150 people were back at Monument Circle by 5 p.m. Thursday. It follows several nights of peaceful protests this week. There is no curfew Thursday.
Matty Slaydon, who works with the Bail Project and Queering Indy, said Thursday's protest is not organized by Indy10 Black Lives Matter.
"These are just people showing up spontaneously every day," he said.
Indy10 BLM has a chalking event planned for Friday, and a sit-in organized by Black Women in Charge is planned for Saturday.
Special prosecutor appointed in Reed case
A special prosecutor has been appointed in the fatal officer-involved shooting of 21-year-old Dreasjon Reed.
On Thursday, Marion Superior Court Judge Heather Welch appointed Rosemary Khoury to serve as the special prosecutor in the investigation into Reed's death. Khoury, who is black, has been a deputy prosecutor in Madison County since 2009.
“I’m more focused on making sure I go into this with an open mind," she said. “I want to be sure to consider every piece of evidence that there is.”
Reed was fatally shot on May 6 by an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officer during a foot pursuit in the area of West 62nd Street and Michigan Road. Part of the pursuit, which began by car, as well as the shooting were captured on Reed's Facebook Live.
According to police, there was an exchange of gunfire between Reed and an officer, after the officer's use of a stun gun was "ineffective." Police said they found a gun at the scene and believe it belonged to Reed.
Reed's family and their attorneys maintain that Reed did not fire a gun.
Contact IndyStar reporter Elizabeth DePompei at 317-444-6196 or edepompei@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @edepompei.