21-Year-Old Veteran Killed In Indianapolis While On Facebook Live

Dreasjon “Sean” Reed, 21-year-old veteran, was shot and killed by a police officer on Wednesday, May 6, and captured the audio of his death on Facebook Live.

Like many who gathered to protest this killing on Thursday, Reed’s family questioned if the killing was necessary.

Initial reports suggest that the shooting came after a high-speed chase that started between Reed and Deputy Chief Kendale Adams. During the pursuit Chief Randa Taylor – who was also in an unmarked car - joined however, both Adams and Taylor stopped their pursuit once marked police cars joined the pursuit.

More recent reports indicate that the initial pursuit on Reed by Adams and Taylor began when the officers were off-duty and on their way home. The pursuit was terminated after approximately 10 minutes until another officer, whose identity remains unknown, spotted Reed’s car, an unspecified amount of time after.

Reed is said to have parked his car and fled on foot initiating the foot chase. At which point the officer used a stun gun on Reed - the effects of the stun gun are inconclusive – Reed supposedly opened fire on the officer. The officer then returned fire, killing Reed.

At some point prior to Reed exiting his car, the phone that was being used to stream live on Facebook fell and viewers only saw the sky but were able to hear the gunshots go off.

The shooting was not captured on Reed’s Facebook live stream, the officers’ body camera or the dashboard camera of the vehicle the officer was driving. However, audio was captured of a detective, who cannot be seen on camera, saying “Think it’s going to be a closed casket, homie,” which many believe referred to a closed-casket funeral. Chief Taylor, who was involved in the initial pursuit of Reed, stated that the detective will be facing disciplinary actions for their “unacceptable” comment.

This story is still developing.

Read full statement from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department here.