Indianapolis — Anthony Maclin was wheeled into his attorney’s conference room to meet reporters one month and one week after being shot three times by IMPD officers in the driveway of his grandmother’s northside home after being startled awake in a car with a gun in his lap.
”As soon as I heard anything, I immediately woke up and just looked to my right and left and was immediately getting shot at,” said the 24-year-old small business owner from Ohio. “From there, I was ordered to get out of the car, put my hands up and that was pretty much it. It was when the fight for my life started.”
That fight for life has included 17 days in the hospital and six surgeries that have resulted in the remains of police bullets still being lodged in his body.
”When I woke up, my hands were at my side and the gun had to still have been in my lap,” said Maclin, admitting that he was legally armed that morning in the 3600 block of North Oxford Street. ”The only announcements were made when I got out of the car and that was to put my hands up.”
Officers said three minutes after they arrived they banged on Maclin’s vehicle in an attempt to awaken him before firing their guns.
18 hours after Maclin was shot at 4 a.m. on December 31st, IMPD issued a statement that read, “Detectives were able to confirm the involved person in the car woke up and was moving around in the car prior to any shots being fired. The involved individual looked towards the officers and moved his arm towards the officers. It is not clear if the gun was in his hand.”
The three officers fired more than thirty shots, striking Maclin three times.
”We’re here today to set the record straight,” said attorney Stephen Wagner. “The family has seen the body cam footage from the officers and it is not inconclusive. It shows what Anthony remembers and that is he never grabbed the handgun that he kept in the car.
”These three officers emptied their magazines, firing into a car when there was no threat,” said Wagner. ”The only thing worse than the officers’ training was their aim, thank God.”
The patrolmen had been called to the home by Maclin’s grandmother who said she did not recognize the rental car running in her driveway that morning.
”I never, never would expect anything like this,” said Vickie Driver. ”It happened so quickly and I just couldn’t understand how did it get from me wanting to help to all they had to say was, ‘M’am there was a young man in the car,’ and I would’ve called his name out or anything.”
The family has filed a Tort Claim advising that legal action against the city could potentially be filed.
Maclin also wants the officers fired and the Marion County Prosecutor to investigate for potential criminal charges, which is protocol in officer-involved shootings.
The officers remain on administrative duty.
”I’m very disappointed because the officers that responded are not rookies. Being people that have been on the force for a while, I believe that other measures could’ve happened,” said Driver, who has served on the Critical Incident Response Team that reviews body-worn camera video in officer-involved shootings for IMPD Chief Randal Taylor. “I don’t think I want to serve on that board anymore.”
IMPD indicated that the video will be released later this week.
”By releasing a photo of the gun and saying the video was inconclusive, IMPD is creating a distorted narrative about this incident,” said Wagner.
In 2017, two IMPD officers fatally wounded an unarmed motorist, Aaron Bailey, who crashed his vehicle during a police pursuit.
Police Chief Bryan Roach fired the officers but was overruled by the Civilian Merit Board.
Bailey’s family won a $650,000 settlement from the City and a pledge for enhanced police training.
“Part of that was for retraining. Officers were told to slow down, seek cover and keep their distance from potential deadly force situations. They directly went against that in this case,” said Wagner. ”They knew there was a gun in the vehicle. There was no hurry to get him out of the vehicle. Why not turn your spotlight on him? Why not get on your overhead speaker? Why not hit the back of the trunk and stay at a distance? Why surround the vehicle with guns drawn and then awaken somebody and not expect them to move? That’s crazy.”
