INDIANAPOLIS—The families and friends of Gary Harrell and Frederick Davis, along with community members, labor, and clergy gathered outside an Eastside Burger King on Saturday, Nov. 11 to demand Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears hold the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) accountable for the shooting of 15 Black men so far this year, with the most recent occurring a day before the rally.
The Burger King at the intersection of East 21st Street and North Shadeland Avenue was the location where Frederick Davis, 37, was shot and killed by police responding to a trespassing call at a nearby hotel on Oct. 26. Davis was homeless and reportedly suffering from mental illness. Despite Burger King employees calling to get Davis help, the police showed up. The situation escalated from there, eventually resulting in IMPD officer Nicholas Deem shooting and killing Davis. The police department claims Davis grabbed an officer’s gun during a struggle.
Davis’ aunt, Sharon Cannon, echoed the family’s and community’s demand that IMPD release the unedited, full body cam footage of the encounter. “Justice looks like us seeing the body cam!” Cannon told the crowd. Police narratives are often carefully curated by investigators with input from the Fraternal Order of Police and reinforced by a structurally racist code of silence that permeates law enforcement agencies.
As weeks have gone by, no one has been given access to the video footage captured by Burger King’s security cameras or police body cameras. The prosecutor’s office has also repeatedly refused to meet with community members and families of the deceased.
“My nephew, to me, was murdered unjustly, and I’m not going away,” Cannon told the crowd and press. “I’ll be at every rally. Wherever I can be at, I’m going to be there because I’m his voice.”
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