IMPD makes public bodycam footage of the police shooting at the Speedway gas station

Indianapolis, Indiana – Friday, bodycam footage from an October police shooting at a Speedway gas station on the near southeast side was made public by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

IMPD Patrol Officer Ryan Thomas, an eight-year department veteran, was the officer who discharged his firearm.

At approximately 7 a.m. on October 19, while completing an unrelated robbery investigation at the Speedway petrol station (2053 Shelby St.), several officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were informed that a man in a car in the parking lot was wanted on an active warrant.

Later, the man’s identity was revealed as 38-year-old Antoine Beech.

Beech was discovered by the police seated in the front passenger seat of a white Chevy Impala that was pulled up to the petrol pumps. Beech was approached by three officers, and they claimed to have seen a gun in his hand.

In the bodycam video, Beech can be heard receiving orders from the officers not to reach for his gun and to reveal his hands. When Beech reached for his gun, Thomas shot him in the right hand, according to the police.

Thomas’ bodycam did not turn on during the incident, according to IMPD. The bodycam of another officer was manually turned on after the incident, but it did not activate either.

The police claim that the security camera footage from the petrol station was of poor quality, making it impossible to see when Thomas fired his gun.

Up until emergency personnel arrived, officers gave Beech medical attention. According to IMPD, he also suffered a laceration to his chest in addition to the gunshot wound to his right hand.

When Beech was brought to Eskenazi Hospital, she was stable. He had outstanding warrants for his arrest for resisting arrest, driving while inebriated, and trafficking cocaine. An extra charge of illegal firearm ownership is being brought against him. A hearing is scheduled for February 14.

Both uninvolved parties and policemen escaped unharmed.

The IMPD Critical Response Team, IMPD Internal Affairs, and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office are all looking into the shooting.