News and HeadlinesIndianapolis Local NewsCrime

Actions

Family of Dreasjon Reed seeks answers in shooting death

Posted
and last updated

INDIANAPOLIS — The mother of Dreasjon Reed is looking for answers after an officer with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department shot and killed her son.

"We are resilient people but resilience has its limits," Fatima Johnson, an attorney representing the family, said. "We are strong but strength has its limits."

Dreasjon Reed's parents hugged each other Tuesday not far from the spot where their son's life ended nearly a week ago.

"You have a right to ask questions about what happened last week. You have a right to demand answers," Johnson said. "We represent this mother and this father. We all know that something happened here, something happened here that was tragic and we need answers."

She's vowing to stick with the family until the family finds their truth.

Demetree Wynn is Dreasjon's mother. It's been six days since she lost her son. Tears fell as she talked about how she saw her son.

"He was growing into a man," Wynn said. "He wasn't a full grown man yet — 21 is not a man yet. His brain won't let him be a man yet because he was still playing."

The 21-year-old was shot following a police pursuit on the city's north side. After he got out of the car, police said Reed tried to run away. They allege he fired a gun as he ran so police responded by tasing him first then shooting.

"He was happy, he just wanted to be seen, he just wanted to be known," Dreasjon's father, Jamie Reed, said.

At the time of the shooting, Dreasjon was on Facebook Live. His father said his son wasn't right for what he did by running away but he believes he didn't deserve to die.

"We just need to fight," Jamie Reed said. "We need justice for him and justice for all."

Reed's mother shared a story about another encounter with law enforcement where Dreasjon called police and made sure an elderly missing woman returned home safely.