INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has released body camera footage from a September incident where a murder suspect was shot by an officer.
The incident occurred on Sept. 16 just three hours after IMPD officers responded to a homicide.
According to IMPD, officers were dispatched around 7:20 a.m. to West 10th Street and North Holmes Avenue on the near west side for a person shot.
There, police found that Krystal Walton, who had been dropping off children at Charity Church Childhood Center for daycare, was shot multiple times. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Later, around 10:30 a.m., a person at a bus stop told police that a man at 10th and Delaware Street was telling people he had shot someone.
Two IMPD officers responded and found a vehicle similar to the one described by witnesses. The department said officers saw the suspect, later identified as 33-year-old Orlando Mitchell, holding a rifle.
The officers were told to wait for backup, but police said Mitchell then got out of the vehicle holding an AR-15. IMPD officers ordered Mitchell to drop the weapon, video shows, but instead he pointed the gun toward them.
The two IMPD officers opened fire, and Mitchell was hit in the leg. Officers, who said they saw the rifle still within Mitchell’s reach, waited for an arrest team to arrive before approaching.
While arresting Mitchell, IMPD said they found a handgun in his waistband. Photos of both the handgun and AR-15 are below:
As paramedics were treating him, video shows Mitchell admitting to shooting Walton.
“I shot that b***h in her face,” Mitchell can be heard saying.
At the scene, IMPD officers found a rifle casing. However, investigators haven’t yet determined at what point in the incident it was fired.
Mitchell has since been charged with murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. The police shooting is still under investigation by IMPD’s critical incident response team.
The department’s internal affairs unit will also conduct its own investigation into the shooting, and the incident will be reviewed by the use of force review board. IMPD was unable to confirm Saturday whether or not the officers involved in the shooting are still on administrative leave.
A full video of the incident released by IMPD can be viewed here.
