INDIANAPOLIS -- Family members of Aaron Bailey released new information about the investigation into his death on Thursday at the site where IMPD officers shot and killed him back in June.
Bailey's sister, Kimberly Brown and his daughter, Erica Bailey said they received Bailey's autopsy report and were granted access to his car Thursday morning, six weeks after his death.
According to those reports, Bailey was shot four times and died from those wounds. Brown said they counted at least 11 gunshot holes in Bailey's vehicle.
Police say Bailey was driving just before 2 a.m. on June 29 when police pulled him over for a traffic violation near the intersection of Burdsal Parkway and Riverside Drive. During that stop, Bailey sped from the scene and crashed into a tree near the intersection of 23rd and Aqueduct streets.
After that crash, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said two officers fired "multiple" rounds at the vehicle, hitting Bailey. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Police say no weapon was found inside the vehicle.
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The circumstances surrounding what led up to the shots being fired have not been released by police but family members say the new information they received Thursday sheds light into Bailey’s final moments and how he died.
"Once you see the pictures, we’re confident that there will be no doubt in your mind that these officers not only abused their force but showed a clear sense of bias in the way that they policed Aaron Bailey, in the way that they stalked Aaron Bailey and the way that he was killed," said Dominic Dorsey, founder and president of the community advocacy Don't Sleep. ”The coroner’s report says homicide but in my opinion, it was definitely murder.”
Brown said the coroner's report showed that Bailey died from four gunshot wounds to his back, chest and upper shoulder areas.
They said they were also able to see Bailey’s vehicle Thursday morning and counted at least 11 bullet holes from the shooting, although IMPD has not released any information about how many shots were fired by the two officers.
“Aaron can’t tell us what happened that night because of what happened,” said Kimberly Brown. “Because they murdered my brother, but we're going to get answers and we're going to get justice no matter what.”
Brown said they are still not sure where the investigation stands because they haven’t been able to get an update from police. She said they feel like IMPD and the Marion County Prosecutor are ignoring their request for answers and wishes when it comes to prosecuting the case, but they will not stop until they get justice for Bailey.
"We’re not going to sit by and continue to let that be the new normal," said Dorsey. "That will never be normal.”
“In 42 days we can’t even get a statement from the officers who murdered Aaron Bailey," said Satchuel Cole, Vice President of Don't Sleep. "When you’re wearing a blue uniform justice comes swift and it’s very very stern, but when you’re black or brown skin it comes never at all.”
The family said they have requested a special prosecutor in the case. Under Indiana law, citizens can petition the court to name a special prosecutor.
The Marion County Prosecutor has said that he will wait for the results of the investigation before he decides what action he will take, which could include calling for a grand jury. The Marion County Prosecutor said he has not made that decision because he has not received the results from the IMPD investigation.
IMPD Chief Bryan Roach has also asked the FBI to run a parallel investigation into the officer-involved shooting. The FBI found enough to open the investigation into potential Civil Rights violations. That investigation will occur along-side IMPD's investigation into the events of the shooting.
IMPD issued the following statement Thursday evening in response to the family's concerns.
“Aaron Bailey’s death continues to be a tragic incident for our community and our department. IMPD is committed to being as transparent as the law allows, and upon completion of the ongoing criminal investigation by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, we are prepared to move expeditiously with our own internal review.”
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Timeline of Events of the Aaron Bailey shooting as released by IMPD:
- 1:45 a.m.: Officers initiated a traffic stop at Burdsal Parkway and Riverside Drive for a traffic violation (9 minutes long) During that stop the man fled from officers.
- 1:54 a.m.: Officers announced over their radio that they were chasing the man
- 1:54 a.m.: Less than a minute later, the vehicle they were chasing crashed into a tree at 23rd Street and Aqueduct Street
- 1:55 a.m.: Officers announced on radio they were involved in a police action shooting
- 2:02 a.m.: EMS arrived on scene
- 2:05 a.m.: Driver was taken to Eskenazi Hospital
- 2:24 a.m.: Driver was pronounced deceased at Eskenazi Hospital
- 3:00 a.m.: Female passenger was arrested on a narcotics charge
