INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has released body camera footage from an officer-involved shooting that occurred on December 30, 2024.
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On that day, 48-year-old Kenneth Roberts Jr. was shot and killed by police after allegedly firing at an officer.
Dash camera footage from Officer Gordon of the Lawrence Police Department shows Roberts Jr. being pulled over during a traffic stop in the 6900 block of Pendleton Pike, near a U-Haul parking lot. A female passenger exited the vehicle at this time.
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Officer Gordon can be heard instructing, "Put the car in park and shut it off. Get out of the f***ing car. Hands where I can see them!"
Instead of complying, Roberts drove away, prompting a police chase that continued along West 38th Street.
During the pursuit, Roberts fired multiple shots at Officer Gordon through his rear window, which are indicated with red circles in the footage.
"I think he just fired a round at me," Officer Gordon reported over the radio.
IMPD officers quickly mobilized to assist in the area near East 38th Street and Arlington Avenue. A public safety camera captured Roberts driving the wrong way at the intersection of Arlington Avenue and East 34th Street, revealing that his rear window was shattered from gunfire directed at the police.
As the pursuit continued on North Arlington Avenue, Officer Gordon reported that Roberts fired additional shots. Body-worn camera footage shows Officer Gordon using his rifle to return fire at Roberts through his front window.
Gordon fired again, and Roberts eventually came to a stop in in the 6500 block of East 30th Street, where he fired further shots.
As they came to a stop, Officer Gordon exited his vehicle and continued to engage with Roberts.
Another officer, Officer Agresta, was the second to arrive on the scene and also fired at Roberts. IMPD Officer Duckett also arrived on the scene. His body-worn camera captured the three officers firing at Roberts's vehicle.
For several minutes, the officers continued to give commands for Mr. Roberts to exit the vehicle with his hands up. An armored vehicle was eventually deployed to safely approach Roberts's car, where officers found him unresponsive. He was removed from the vehicle and placed into custody.
Personnel from the Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services, who were staged nearby, responded and pronounced Mr. Roberts deceased at the scene. A firearm was located near him.
Neither the woman who exited the vehicle during the traffic stop nor the officers were harmed during the incident.
IMPD and LPD made the following statements following the incident:
"t's unfortunate that our officers are engaged in this once again, in which the suspect or suspects in different situations could have complied with the police officers direction
Life is precious, and any time we lose a life in our community, it's not something any of us want. And I've said that repeatedly, and I mean it. And no officer, whether they're with IMPD or with Lawrence, wakes up in the morning and wants to engage in this kind of situation, especially having to live with the fact that you had to use force to protect our community to defend yourself, and that resulted in someone losing their life.
