INDIANAPOLIS — Attorneys representing a man who was shot by IMPD officers while sitting in his grandmother's driveway in December have sent a tort claim notice to leaders in the city.
Anthony Maclin, 24, was sleeping in his car in the driveway at his grandmother’s home in the 3600 block of North Oxford Street on December 31, 2022 when he was shot by IMPD officers.
According to an IMPD report, officers were dispatched to for reports of a suspicious vehicle in the driveway around 4 a.m. The caller, who turned out to be Maclin’s grandmother, Vicki Driver, did not know who the person was.
Upon arrival, officers found an adult male sleeping in the driver’s seat armed with a gun.
The officers report that they knocked on the window and said “Police. Hands up.”
When Maclin awoke, three officers fired their service weapons a total of 30 times, striking Maclin three times, according to his attorneys.
"I heard so many gunshots, so many gunshots. I just went out and I still said oh, that could still be one of my kids, one of my kids," Maclin's grandmother said. "I seen Anthony and then I said 'oh, what have I done?'" Driver said. "He just said Grandma, you know, and we just start talking back and forth."
Maclin’s attorneys claim he underwent six surgeries from the injuries over the course of 17 days and will be unable to work for at least three months.
"I am in a lot of pain. I mean a lot of pain. It's hard to sleep. It's hard to eat certain foods. My breathing is bad," Maclin said during a news conference Monday. "Hopefully, I will recover and have a good recovery. I am just not sure how things will be."
"Anthony is not accused of committing any crime. He was not drunk or high on drugs. While Anthony had a firearm in the car—and a license to carry the firearm—he never reached for the gun," attorney Stephen Wagner said. "He never had the gun in his hand, and he certainly did not point the gun at officers. In the end, Anthony's only 'offense' was being a young black man in a high crime neighborhood. This 'shoot first and ask questions later' approach to policing is illegal and cannot be tolerated.”
The notice was sent to Mayor Joe Hogsett, IMPD Chief Randal Taylor and officers Carl Chandler, Lucas Riley and Alexander Gregory.
A press conference was held Monday with Wagner along with Maclin, his grandmother and sister.
In the press conference, Wagner gave a detailed recounting of the events that led to Maclin being shot by IMPD.
He explains that Maclin, who is actually an Ohio resident, was in town to pick up his BMW from the auto shop and decided to surprise his grandmother while he was here.
After going out, he got to her house late and decided to sleep in his car and wait to surprise her in the morning.
He slept with his gun in the passenger seat because of the awareness that his grandmother's neighborhood wasn't entirely safe.
Maclin describes how he felt waking up to police guns pointed at him.
"I looked right and left and was immediately getting shot at," Maclin said.
Wagner and Maclin's grandmother question the lack of conflict resolution that officers put into the situation before firing.
"Why not turn your spotlight on? Why not get on the speaker?" Wagner said. "Why surround the vehicle with guns, wake someone up and not expect them to move?"
Wagner states that IMPD made several implications that they stated commands when this is incorrect.
In addition, the attorney states that IMPD officers not only shot Maclin, but "emptied magazines" when there was no threat.
"I never would have expected anything like that," Maclin's grandmother said. "The gunshots, it was just so many, so many."
"Would this have happened to a young white man in Noblesville or Carmel?" Wagner asked.
He also states that IMPD's use of a photo of Maclin's handgun creates a distorting image that Maclin had attempted to reach for his handgun, when he did not.
The attorneys have called for the unedited release of bodycam footage from the incident, the termination of the involved officers and criminal charges against the officers.
"Just imagine what my grandson went through at the hands of someone that helps to protect, someone that I call just so I could feel safe. And if somebody was out there or somebody was in the car, they took that away from me. I don't feel safe. I don't. I wouldn't ever call them again," Driver said.
They have also called for a 'Call to Action,' stating law enforcement needs to show more transparency and be quicker in releasing bodycam footage.
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