INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has released edited bodycam footage detailing a fatal officer-involved shooting that left one man dead and a woman critically injured in downtown Indy near Lucas Oil Stadium in September.

According to a graphic that appears at the beginning of the video, officers were called to the 2200 block of South Shelby Street in response to an armed robbery of a Dollar General around 9:15 p.m. on Sept. 22. The response was part of a serial robbery investigation that IMPD covert robbery detectives were conducting at the time.

SWAT officers then responded to the area where the armed robbery reportedly took place and located the suspect vehicle, identified as a Silver Buick Lesabre in the 600 block of South Missouri Street.

The images featured in the edited footage were gathered from multiple body-worn cameras that were activated during the shooting. A portion of the footage was also recorded on a bodycam placed on the police vehicle’s dashboard.

Security footage released by IMPD that shows officers firing toward a fleeing Ricktez Williams and Ariana Morris after officers used a grappler device to stop the suspect vehicle during a pursuit on Sept. 22, 2023.

The SWAT officers then attempted to conduct a pursuit prevention technique on the vehicle, which police said was being operated by a woman police identified as 25-year-old Eriana Morris.

The officers deployed a grappler device and successfully subdued the vehicle.

Footage gathered by a security camera captured the exact moment when the vehicle was brought to a halt. It was at that moment that IMPD said the front passenger, identified as 27-year-old Ricktez Williams, began firing multiple shots at officers from the front passenger window.

In segments of the bodycam footage released by police, Williams can be seen holding what appears to be a firearm and opening gunfire.

Bodycam still shots showing Williams holding a gun out the passenger window and firing after police deployed a grappler device.

Three officers responded and opened fire at Williams and Morris as they fled from the disabled Buick. As officers approached Morris, she could be heard telling them that she was pregnant.

Both Williams and Morris were transported to area hospitals in critical condition. Williams died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

The Marion County Coroner’s Office determined Williams’ cause of death was from multiple gunshot wounds and the death was ruled as a homicide.

Officers fire on the fleeing Ricktez Williams and Ariana Morris (highlighted in red) after Williams fired at officers from a vehicle during a pursuit. (Image from IMPD bodycam footage)

Morris was later charged with armed robbery for her alleged role in the incident.

Officers recovered the gun that Williams used to fire at officers, which police say was reported as stolen in 2022. No officers were injured during the incident.

The IMPD Critical Incident Response team is handling the criminal investigation of the incident, while the IMPD Internal Affairs is conducting a separate administrative investigation. The officers who fired their firearms have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard procedure in an officer-involved shooting investigation.    

The civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will conduct a mandatory hearing for any attempted use of deadly force against a person. This occurs after the conclusion of the criminal process.  

IMPD provided the following statement when FOX59/CBS4 asked if the agency approves of the bodycam videos before being released to the public.

IMPD reviews the videos for accuracy before they are released. The videos are also reviewed by a group of community members who provide feedback on the format of the video and for their input on the content.