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James Williams

Age : 33

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 09/01/2021

Location : 5501 East 21st Street

City : Indianapolis

County : Marion

State : Indiana

Agency : Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during armed confrontation

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 09/01/2021, 33-year-old James Williams was shot and killed by two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Violent Crimes Unit detectives inside a gas station near East 21st Street and North Ritter Avenue.
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The detectives were tracking Williams because he was wanted on an Indiana Department of Correction felony warrant for escape and weapons offenses. IMPD also identified Williams as a suspect in an August 2, 2021 double homicide.
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The detectives located Williams at an apartment complex near the gas station and watched him enter the business. Police said they saw a handgun visible in his shorts. When Williams came back outside, the detectives approached him. Williams returned inside the store and the detectives followed.
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Surveillance video subsequently released by IMPD showed the detectives ordering other customers out of the store and repeatedly directing Williams to get on the ground and show his hands. Williams then pulled the handgun from his shorts and pointed it toward the detectives. Both detectives fired, killing him inside the store.
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Police recovered Williams's handgun. IMPD later reported that preliminary ballistic testing linked the weapon to evidence from three homicide investigations: the August 2, 2021 double homicide for which Williams was being investigated, a June 2020 homicide and nonfatal shooting, and another June 2020 incident involving shots fired and a hit-and-run.
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Neither detective was wearing a body camera. The shooting itself, however, was captured by the gas station's surveillance system, and IMPD publicly released that video later in September.
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IMPD's Critical Incident Response Team investigated the shooting, while the department's Internal Affairs Unit conducted a separate administrative investigation. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office was also consulted.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The two IMPD Violent Crimes Unit detectives who shot Williams were not publicly identified in the sources located for this update.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2021/09/01/impd-shoots-kills-man-wanted-fatal-shooting/5709684001/
https://www.wishtv.com/news/local-news/police-involved-shooting-on-east-21st-street/
https://fox59.com/news/indianapolis-police-shooting-suspect-killed/
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/man-shot-killed-by-impd-officers-on-east-21st-street/531-4df7b1f4-00d9-4bbd-b6a7-975a13e56f7b
https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/impd-responding-to-officer-involved-shooting-on-indys-east-side
https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/impd-releases-video-of-officers-shooting-man-inside-gas-station