Police: Officer first tried to use Taser in violent tussle before fatal shooting
Online records show the man had past convictions for resisting law enforcement, multiple counts of battery, auto theft, trespassing, residential entry and robbery.
The Indianapolis police officer involved in the fatal shooting of a man late Tuesday first tried to use his Taser during a violent tussle, according to surveillance video reviewed by authorities.
The video, which has not been released publicly, revealed new details about the altercation that left 44-year-old Kevin Hicks dead and a still-unnamed officer injured, police said — but it doesn't show the actual shooting.
The shooting happened shortly after 9 p.m. in the parking lot of the Marathon gas station at the intersection of East 10th and North Rural streets. A woman driving south on Rural called 911, saying her husband was repeatedly hitting her in her car. The couple's young child also was in the car.
The video shows the woman pulling into the parking lot and flagging down the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer, who was already parked there, said IMPD Deputy Chief Valerie Cunningham. The officer was not one of the patrolmen dispatched because of the 911 call, Cunningham said, but he talked with the woman and her husband, Hicks, whose last known address is in Indianapolis.
The video shows the officer, the woman and Hicks talking outside the vehicle, she said. At one point, the officer reaches out and touches Hicks' arm.
"Mr. Hicks pulled away and then a physical altercation ensued," Cunningham said. "You can see arms flailing — so, punches being thrown. We're not talking about just simple grappling and moving around."
Witnesses reported hearing the officer yell that he was going to use his Taser, Cunningham said, but the Taser was knocked out of the officer's hand. It was later found on the ground, but it had not been deployed.
Cunningham said the "momentum of that fight" carried the two men out of view of the gas station's camera. According to witness statements, she said, the men went to the ground and a shot was fired.
"Witness statements indicate Hicks may have attempted to gain control of the officer's gun during this struggle," IMPD officials wrote in a statement released Wednesday. "The officer discharged his weapon, striking Hicks."
The officer requested medical assistance after Hicks was shot, Cunningham said, but Hicks was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police are not yet releasing the name of the officer, who is a six-year veteran of the force. He was treated for a bite to the hand and was released from IU Health Methodist Hospital. He is still being monitored for a possible concussion, Cunningham said.
Police officials said the video is with the Marion County prosecutor's office for review. Spokeswoman Peg McLeish said the office does not release evidence in pending investigations.
The woman and child were interviewed by detectives Downtown after the incident.
Those who knew Hicks described him as a troubled person who was trying to better himself.
“Kevin was a good person, but he had some issues like we all do,” said Farah Davidson, who grew up with Hicks in the Clearstream Gardens and Rowney Terrace housing projects on the southeast side.
Online Indiana Department of Correction records show Hicks had past convictions for resisting law enforcement, multiple counts of battery, auto theft, trespassing, residential entry and robbery. A man who identified himself as Hicks' uncle told IndyStar that his nephew also was sentenced to a work release program after a battery conviction last year. Online court records confirmed that account.
Police said they believe Hicks should have been at a community corrections facility, and that his absence might have been the reason behind the disturbance between Hicks and his wife.
Cunningham said Hicks had an open warrant for a violation associated with last year's battery conviction, but added that information was not known to officers on the scene of Tuesday's shooting.
Davidson said he never knew Hicks to be "aggressive towards police" without being provoked.
“I wasn’t there so I won’t bash the police,” Davidson said, “but I will say that whatever happened didn’t merit Kevin losing his life.”
Sherlonda Garrett, who grew up with Hicks on the south side, told IndyStar that Hicks was a good father and “loved his kids unconditionally.”
“He changed his life around for the better,” Garrett said. “I felt like he was doing a good job. … I’m not saying he’s perfect and everybody has they flaws, but Kevin didn’t deserve to die.”
Another longtime friend, Terry Harris, said she met Hicks through her brother, Michael Harris, who was killed in 2001.
"He was like everybody else trying to make it in this world, no matter his faults,” she said.
The surveillance video is the only known footage of the incident. Police said there were other gas station surveillance cameras, but they did not give a clear view of what happened. IMPD officers do not have body-worn cameras, which has been pitched across the country as one way to increase transparency with the community. Some officers wore the equipment during a seven-month pilot program last year.
One officer who was part of the program shot and killed an armed suspect in April 2015. Police showed the body camera video at a news conference last July, and the officer was cleared of wrongdoing.
While police called that program a success, questions remain about how much a comprehensive program would cost.
Last fall, the City-County Council approved about $250,000 for an introductory camera program, which officials said at the time would equip about 12.5 percent of the city’s 900 patrol officers.
But Capt. Rick Riddle, an IMPD spokesman, said recently passed legislation is forcing the department to take another look at how much equipment that money can buy.
Gov. Mike Pence last month signed into law a bill governing the use of cameras. One provision requires county, city or town law enforcement agencies to store video for 190 days.
Riddle said the department hopes to buy at least 100 cameras initially, but the cost of storing footage has to be factored into the city’s costs.
“That was the game-changer,” Riddle said. “Once that is known, then we’ll know how many body cameras we can buy.”
Rev. Charles Harrison, of the faith-based, anti-crime group the Ten Point Coalition, said he’s been pushing for police body cameras. Such equipment is seen as a way to provide objective evidence in situations where police use deadly force.
“It will protect the police officers who are lawfully carrying out their duties,” Harrison said, “and it will give the community confidence that the true facts are going to be brought out when there is a police-action shooting. If the officer has acted unlawfully, then the camera will show that, too.”
Cunningham said she knows the community was hopeful that the surveillance camera would have caught Tuesday's entire incident. But she also cautioned that a body camera might not have provided a definitive account. During a physical altercation like this one, she said, it's possible that a camera might have been knocked off the officer's body.
"Without speculating, I don't know what a body camera would have caught on this," she said. "I think sometimes with cameras, we have to be realistic, and I think sometimes our expectations are too high."
Tuesday's incident was the second fatal officer-involved shooting in Indianapolis since Saturday, when police shot and killed 30-year-old Cameron Gover outside a west-side McDonald's.
Call IndyStar reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @michaeladams317.
Call IndyStar reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.