INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett believes the special prosecutor appointed to oversee the Aaron Bailey case will "heighten the public's confidence" of the investigation.
The special prosecutor will also help free up Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, Hogsett said.
"Hopefully [the special prosecutor] will take one thing off Terry Curry's platter and put it on somebody else's platter," Hogsett said.
Hogsett was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana from 2010-2014.
St. Joseph Co. Prosecutor Kenneth P. Cotter had been appointed as special prosecutor in the Aaron Bailey case.
"I have a great deal of confidence in prosecutors because I'm a former federal prosecutor," Hogsett said. "I don't know [Cotter] personally."
Bailey was fatally shot by IMPD officers in June after he fled from a traffic stop near the intersection of Burdsal Parkway and Riverside Drive.
Bailey, who was unarmed, was shot four times by police. His family said they counted a total of 11 gunshot holes in Bailey’s vehicle.
MORE | Family of Aaron Bailey releases new information about investigation into his shooting death by IMPD
The circumstances of the shooting prompted immediate outrage and calls for a special prosecutor in the case.
Curry said he had been considering requesting a special prosecutor for some time, but that the shooting of Southport Police Lt. Aaron Allan convinced him it was a necessary step, since his office would have been handling both cases.
“We are very concerned about the perception that could be created if we as an office are simultaneously prosecuting and individual for the shooting death of a public safety officer while at the same time perhaps passing judgment upon the officer-involved shooting of Aaron Bailey,” Curry said.
The decision of whether to file charges, present the case to a grand jury or drop it outright will not sit in Cotter’s hands. He is expected to use his own team to oversee the case, although Curry said his office would make whatever necessary resources available.
The two IMPD officers involved in the shooting have not made a public statement. They have been on administrative leave since the shooting, per IMPD protocol.
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