INDIANAPOLIS -- On the heels of a Civilian Police Merit Board decision clearing two IMPD officers in the fatal shooting of Aaron Bailey last year, protestors took to Monument Circle Friday night to demand changes.
The protestors were sad and angry – but few said they were surprised.
“There’s a family that’s hurting and now they have absolutely no justice,” Brishon Bond, who attended the protest, said. “The final nail in the coffin was nailed the other day when they determined that they wouldn’t be terminated.”
In a 5-2 vote Thursday evening, the merit board ruled that IMPD Officers Michael Dinnsen and Carlton Howard did not violate department policy when they fatally shot Bailey after he fled from a traffic stop.
The ruling went against a recommendation by IMPD Chief Bryan Roach that the officers be terminated. Roach made the recommendation in November after a special prosecutor declined to file criminal charges in the case.
The Indianapolis Chapter of the NAACP has called for an evaluation of the merit board’s review standards for when an officer’s use of lethal force deserves a recommendation for termination.
Mayor Joe Hogsett has also called for changes to the merit board, although he left an event Friday morning before RTV6 could ask him about what he had in mind.
READ MORE | Officers cleared in Aaron Bailey shooting begin process to return to normal IMPD duties | Civilian Merit Board clears IMPD officers in Aaron Bailey shooting in 5-2 vote | In emotional testimony, officer recounts fatal shooting of Aaron Bailey | Officer in Aaron Bailey shooting: ‘I thought I was going to die that night’ | IMPD Chief Bryan Roach grilled at termination hearing for officers who shot Aaron Bailey
