INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD Chief Randall Taylor has called for the immediate appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee the criminal investigation into the death of Dreasjon Reed, hours after the family made a public plea for more information to be released.
Reed was shot and killed during an incident with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department last month. Hours after the Reed family held a press conference Wednesday morning Chief Taylor issued the following statement.
"Nearly a month since the Marion County Prosecutor's Office declined to review the criminal investigation of Mr. Reed’s death, we continue to await the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee this process. Our community is rightly calling for the release of information and the fulfillment of our commitment to a transparent investigation with monitoring from federal authorities. This simply cannot occur without the direction and oversight of an independent prosecutor," Taylor said. "This is unacceptable. Our community and this police department deserve better from the criminal justice system.
"I join our community members in calling on the Marion County Superior Court to immediately appoint a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation as it proceeds, release information as soon as is possible, and make a swift and thorough charging determination based on the facts of the case.”
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During their press conference, Reed's family called for an independent investigation, release of Marion County Coroner's report and the names of the officers involved in both the shooting and the recorded comments made after Reed's death.
The family's attorney Fatima Johnson said IMPD's claims that Reed brandished a gun and fired a shot at officers was untrue.
"Dreasjon Reed was an Airman, he was trained to handle weapons. He was a licensed gun holder. If he had a gun, then he had a second amendment right to have one," Johnson said. "Dreasjon Reed - if he did have a gun - had a right to have one."
Reed's mother, Demetree Wynn also gave an emotional description of seeing her son for the last time after the coroner released his body.
"I didn't get a chance to look at the rest of his body, because I couldn't get past his face," Wynn said. "The only thing I could see was his teeth. That's how I knew it was my son. I know what his teeth look like. I know every hair on his head. Nobody wants to see their kid look like that." You can watch the full statement from Wynn below.
You can watch the full press conference below.
