INDIANAPOLIS

3 months after deaths of Dreasjon Reed and McHale Rose, activists still demand change

Madison O'Connor
Indianapolis Star

About 50 community members gathered Thursday afternoon on Indiana Avenue, where the newly painted Black Lives Matter mural sprawled under their feet.

They came with signs that said "Justice for Dreasjon" and "No justice no peace defund the police." They came with T-shirts that had "Black lives matter" splashed across the front.

And exactly three months since the officer-involved fatal shootings of 21-year-old Dreasjon Reed and 19-year-old McHale Rose, they came ready to demand transparency and change.

"This isn't something that is a short-term thing for us," said Jessica Louise, who helped organize the march through Indy10 Black Lives Matter. "We're an organization with roots and we have history, so we understand what it means to do long labor for justice, particularly in the city of Indianapolis.

"Our hope is that we don't have to go for another 90 days, but if we do, so be it."

The colorful mural gave way to black asphalt as members of Indy10 Black Lives Matter and other participants walked for three hours, first to WRTV-6 on Meridian Street, then to Monument Circle and back to Indiana Avenue.

Along the way, demonstrators demanded the release of Reed's 911 report, that a federal investigation be opened, that the Indianapolis police officers involved in the shootings be fired and held accountable, and that more facts about the shootings come out.

The crowd paused at WRTV-6 in the 1300 block of North Meridian Street, where they demanded that the television station air an interview with a person reporter Cameron Ridle said was a witness to Reed's death.

Ridle had posted a teaser about the interview on his Twitter account Wednesday. At the time, the interview had not aired and protesters repeatedly called for its release.

Later Thursday evening, WRTV-6 posted a story on its website saying it was posting the interview to honor the calls for transparency. The television station said it was put in contact with the witness through the law office of Fatima Johnson, who represents Reed's family.  

In the interview, the alleged witness's identify was hidden by a hooded sweatshirt, and the voice appeared to be altered. The witness claimed to have seen a car headed north on Michigan Road pull into the Ace Lock and Key parking lot. The witness was driving east on 62nd Street toward North Michigan Road.

While stopped at a red light, the witness allegedly saw Reed get out of the car and run from police.

Shortly into the chase, the witness claims to have heard Reed say something to police and then continue to run 20 to 25 feet before being stunned in the back by a taser and instantly falling to the ground. 

The person said Reed was convulsing and rolling from side to side on the ground in what looked similar to a seizure, at which time the officer then drew his gun and shot Reed at least 10 times. 

The witness told WRTV-6 it was hard to distinguish if Reed dropped the phone and T-shirt in his hands after being stunned by the taser due to the distance from the scene. But the witness claimed to be confident that Reed never pulled a gun on police. 

"I never saw Dreasjon be threatening toward the officer," the alleged witness stated.

Late Thursday night an IMPD spokeswoman declined to comment about the interview, because the case is being reviewed by a special prosecutor.

Police previously said the officer who shot Reed first tried to use a stun gun, but it was “ineffective,” and an exchange of gunfire between the officer and Reed followed. While police said they recovered a loaded gun near Reed that had been fired at least once, Reed family attorneys denied he pointed or fired a gun.

Another reason for the march was to make people aware that Reed's mother, Demetree Wynn, had received her son's autopsy report Wednesday, which his family, their attorneys and local activists had requested since his death. The report has not been publicly released.

Indy10 Black Lives Matter activists marched from the Black Lives Matter street mural on Indiana Avenue to the WRTV-6 headquarters and then to Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. Marchers called for the airing of an interview with an alleged witness in the Dreasjon Reed case, along with justice for Reed, McHale Rose, and others fatally shot by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers.

Along the way, march participants learned that the IMPD officers involved in Rose's fatal shooting returned to full duty on Monday. A police spokesperson told IndyStar that Chief Randal Taylor decided to return the officers to work following an executive review of preliminary findings from both the criminal and internal investigations. 

"It doesn't make sense, those officers should be fired," Indy10 Black Lives Matter member Zion Smith said. "There should be a federal investigation for both cases."

Smith said it's frustrating that they still have to pressure IMPD and city officials for accountability.

"The fact that the things we are demanding are the same things we demanded a month ago, two months ago, three months ago," he said. "McHale Rose and Dreasjon Reed haven't gotten any justice yet, their families are still suffering through it."

After continuing to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indy and back to Indiana Avenue, Smith said having continued support, even three months after Reed and Rose's deaths, is a great thing.

Smith said, "It lets us know that people still care, that it's not just performative action where people just want to say they went to a protest, these people are actively trying to fight against systematic oppression."

Contact IndyStar Pulliam Fellow Madison O'Connor at mfoconnor@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @madisonoconn. IndyStar reporter Elizabeth dePompei contributed to this report.