Indianapolis prosecutor withdraws from case where police shot unarmed black man

Larry Hannan
Aug 25, 2017 · 2 min read

Bowing to pressure from the victim’s family and others who said his office was too close to police, Marion County District Attorney Terry Curry has withdrawn from the investigation into the shooting death of Aaron Bailey.

Bailey, who was black, was shot by police on June 29. Published reports are that he had initially fled in his car after police tried to pull him over for a traffic stop. The chase ended when Bailey crashed into a fence.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officers Michal P. Dinnsen and Carlton J. Howard then approached the car and both fired at Bailey. Police have given no reason why the officers fired and no gun was reportedly found on Bailey or in his car.

Bailey’s family has said he was shot in the back four times. Police have declined to confirm whether that is true.

A warrant for Bailey’s arrest had been issued earlier that day because he had violated the terms of his pretrial release on a burglary charge.

After the shooting occurred, Bailey’s family members said they didn’t want Curry to make the final decision on whether the officers would be criminally charged, arguing he and his office had a conflict of interest

“We felt that there was a close relationship between the prosecutor and IMPD, so we wanted someone who hasn’t worked as closely with IMPD to kind of take a look and give a fair analysis of the case,” said Bailey’s sister, Kimberly Brown, in an interview with Wishtv.com.

St. Joseph County Prosecutor Kenneth Cotter will now take over the case. St. Joseph County is home to South Bend and the University of Notre Dame.

The killing of Bailey has deeply disturbed and frustrated Indianapolis’ black community. Police Chief Bryan Roach has promised to be transparent in the investigation and Mayor Joe Hogsett has also promised that proper procedures will be followed.

Hogsett said he agreed with Curry’s decision to step aside from the case and promised to do everything he could to help Cotter.

“I also want to echo the hope of many in our community that this criminal investigation will be completed both responsibly and expeditiously,” Hogsett said.

Curry said he decided to step aside because of another case. Jason Dane Brown is accused of killing Southport Police Lt. Aaron Allan in July.

“We are very concerned about the perception that could be created if we as an office are simultaneously prosecuting an 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.

There is no timeline for when the investigation will conclude. Both officers are currently on administrative leave.

IN JUSTICE TODAY

In Justice Today is a national criminal justice news outlet, which produces compelling, original journalism and commentary.

)

Larry Hannan

Written by

Larry Hannan is a reporter and researcher at the Fair Punishment Project at Harvard University. Contact him at larry.hannan@fairpunishment.org or @larryhannan

IN JUSTICE TODAY

In Justice Today is a national criminal justice news outlet, which produces compelling, original journalism and commentary.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade