INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD released body cam footage of an incident in which an officer shot a suspect outside of an east-side Indianapolis business in Oct. 2023.
The department says the video is being released over a year after the incident due to a protective order granted by the court.
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On Oct. 14, 2023, just before 2 a.m., IMPD Officer Roman Williams-Ervin, in full uniform, was working off-duty at Bubbaz Bar and Grill, located in the 10000 block of E. Washington Street.
He told investigators he heard two groups of people inside the bar threatening to start shooting each other. The officer began trying to move the groups outside.
IMPD says while Williams-Ervin was in the entryway, shots were fired, and one man was wounded by gunfire.
The officer says he turned and saw a man in a red shirt, identified as 31-year-old Mar-Kel Sampson, holding a gun.
In the footage, Williams-Ervin can be heard telling Sampson to drop the gun multiple times, but IMPD says instead he pointed a gun at the officer.
Williams Ervin discharged his service weapon, striking Sampson.
IMPD says an object later described by the officer as a gun can be seen on the pavement and an unidentified man can be seen grabbing it.
Sampson was then taken into custody and transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
The man who was allegedly shot by Sampson self-transported to the hospital.
No firearms were recovered from Sampson or at the scene.
Shortly after, at about 2:30 a.m., IMPD East District officers responded to the 2800 block of Carla Court on a report of a person shot.
Officers arrived and located an adult female with gunshot injuries. Officers learned the victim received her injuries at the initial scene in at Bubbaz Bar and Grill.
The woman was transported to the hospital in stable condition.
Sampson was charged with the following by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office:
- Battery by means of a deadly weapon
- Criminal recklessness
- Pointing a firearm at another
He was found not guilty on Nov. 13, 2024.
The incident was investigated by IMPD’s Critical Incident Response Team and a separate investigation was conducted by IMPD’s Internal Affairs Unit.
