INDIANAPOLIS — Edited body-camera footage has been released by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department which shows the armed standoff between three IMPD officers and 37-year-old Eric Taylor that came to a deadly conclusion in the early hours of Sept. 19.
Taylor was shot and killed by a police officer after officers responded to a domestic disturbance call where a woman told police that Taylor was threatening the lives of her and her children while armed with a gun.
In segments of the bodycam footage released by police, Taylor can be seen holding what appears to be a handgun and constantly asking officers to shoot him while ignoring commands to drop his weapon.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Taylor’s family members called for more mental health services to respond to scenes in order to assist police in hopes of preventing deadly encounters.
“They could have tased him. They could have shot him with a rubber bullet. They could have done a number of things,” Taylor’s mother, Kim Gray, previously bemoaned.
According to a timeline of the incident released by IMPD, shortly after 3 a.m., on Sept. 19, IMPD dispatch received a 911 call related to a domestic disturbance. A woman told the dispatcher that she had left her home with her children and that her ex-boyfriend, later identified as Taylor, was following them while armed with a gun.
Police shared the 911 call which included a child saying, “My daddy’s chasing us down the street and we don’t know what to do.”
“He’s going to do something to us,” the child tells the dispatcher.
“He has a 9mm gun,” the child’s mother can be heard saying in the background of the call.
Police ended up locating the woman’s vehicle at a gas station on Worman Street. Shortly after officers began speaking to the woman and the children, the woman pointed to a nearby car and said it was being driven by Taylor and that he had followed her to the gas station.
“He said he’s going to do something. He has a 9mm gun,” she can be heard telling police in a segment of released bodycam footage.
Taylor then drove away from the gas station and IMPD officers began pursuing his vehicle, IMPD detailed. The short pursuit ended in the 1800 block of Portage Terrace when Taylor stopped at an apartment complex.
Body camera footage shows Taylor exiting his car with what appears to be a gun in his hand. Taylor doesn’t appear to ever point the gun at officers, but he can be heard repeatedly asking officers to shoot him while refusing officers’ commands to drop the weapon.
“Shoot, shoot,” Taylor can be heard saying. Officers repeatedly tell Taylor to drop the gun, but he ignores their commands.
“I’m not worried about y’all,” Taylor says.
In the bodycam footage, Taylor can be seen walking around to the passenger door of his vehicle, continuing to wave off the officers’ commands to drop his weapon.
“Shoot,” he goads the officers several more times.
“No,” an officer responds. “Put the gun down.”
Taylor continues to ignore officers and opens the car door.
“Do not get into the car,” an officer shouts right before Taylor leans forward into the open passenger door. A single gunshot rings out, fired by an IMPD officer, and Taylor slumps forward and falls onto the passenger seat with only his legs sticking out of the car.
In the edited bodycam footage released by IMPD, Taylor is shown holding what appears to be a handgun during his entire encounter with police. A section of the bodycam footage is shown below with IMPD highlighting the suspected gun.
IMPD said Taylor originally held the gun in his right hand but switched the weapon to his left before opening the passenger side door of his vehicle. Another highlighted image made by IMPD is shown below with the suspected gun now in Taylor’s left hand.
After being shot, Taylor was transported from the scene to Eskenazi Hospital where he was pronounced dead. No officers were harmed and no shots were fired by Taylor.
Police recovered a Taurus G3C handgun from inside his vehicle after the shooting. A photo of the recovered handgun shows the firearm lying between the car seat and the door.
Police said the shooting is being investigated by IMPD’s Internal Affairs Unit to ensure officers complied with department policy. A citizen-majority Use of Force Review Board will also review the shooting.
