INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Prosecutor's Office on Friday said there is "no legal basis" for filing criminal charges against four Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers involved in the May 7, 2020 shooting death of a 19-year-old Indianapolis man.
Police have previously said that the man, McHale Rose, was killed after exchanging gunfire with officers who were responding to a burglary call on the city's north side. IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said Rose may have been planning a police ambush.
The incident happened at a home near 2200 Woodglen Drive around 1:30 a.m. May 7, 2020.
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"A comprehensive review of the evidence indicates that the actions of the four IMPD officers do not meet Indiana's legal standard to support criminal charges," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Rose's family has been informed of the decision, the prosecutor's office said.
In a report released by the prosecutor's office, Rose's family members told detectives that Rose had been using the telephone number that was used to report an alleged burglary in the neighborhood. Investigators found a cell phone in the area where Rose was shot with a number that corresponds to the 911 call, the prosecutor's office said.
According to the prosecutor's office, Rose was familiar with the address where he allegedly reported the burglary because it was the address where a 17-year-old boy who was a friend of Rose's had been killed in November 2018. The case remains unsolved, according to the prosecutor's report.
The prosecutor's office said after Rose made the 911 call he began broadcasting through his Instagram account. The video reportedly shows Rose holding an AK-47-style rifle. In the chat, Rose allegedly responded to comments to put the gun down by saying, "I can't. They already coming." He reportedly said moments later, "I'm sorry y'all."
The four IMPD officers involved in the shooting said that Rose fired first and that they returned fire. The prosecutor's office said investigators recovered a spent shell case from the area near Rose's body. Forensic testing determined the rifle recovered near Rose's body fired the spent shell casing and Rose's DNA was on the rifle, the prosecutor's office said.
"The death of a young man is a loss to the entire community. That his death occurred during an interaction with police makes plain the need for transparency and accountability," the prosecutor's office said in the report. "That is why the Prosecutor's Office's decision is driven by impartial, objective evidence.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Rose's conduct necessitated that the police defend themselves. The unbiased evidence shows that Mr. Rose shot first and police returned fire in self-defense. Based on that information, the Prosecutor's Office will not file charges in this case."
