According to data gathered by the Washington Post, 619 people had been killed by police in 2017 as of Aug. 15. Aaron Bailey is included in that number.
It has been 50 days since Bailey was shot and killed. According to IMPD, Bailey, a 45-year-old Indianapolis resident, led officers in a brief pursuit on the city’s northwest side before crashing his vehicle. What transpired between the time of the crash and when officers fired approximately 11 shots into the rear and driver’s side of the car remains a mystery.
Today, Bailey’s family and many members of the community want their questions answered and justice to be served.
Final goodbyes, tragic memories
The last time Kim Brown talked to her brother, he was running as a crowd of relatives, friends and supporters cheered him on. That afternoon, he participated in a marathon for Back on My Feet Indianapolis, an organization that uses running to bring awareness to and raise funds for those experiencing homelessness. “We all told him how proud we were. … We all cheered him on. I was able to see him happy and smiling,” she said.
The last time she saw him was from across the sanctuary at her church the Sunday before he died. She was ushering and could see her brother sitting near the back of the room. “I don’t think he saw me, but I saw him,” said Brown. Ten minutes later, he’d be gone from her view and, unbeknownst to anyone, her life forever.
She was hurt, saddened and reduced to a state of disbelief upon learning her brother had been killed. “The day and time we live in is tragic, and there are so many of these cases and happenings with police officers and the Black community. But still, when something like that happens to you, it’s a shock,” she said. “… I wanted to know the circumstances. What were they doing? What was he doing? (What was) the reason?”
Seeking answers
Last week, Bailey’s daughter, Erica Bailey, and Brown conducted a press conference with local activist organization DON’T SLEEP, where they released to the public the coroner’s report, the toxicology report and images of the deceased’s late-model Cadillac.
The reports show that Bailey sustained four gunshot wounds to the chest, one of which exited through his neck. At the time of his death, he was wearing a police detector monitor on his left ankle and a “Back on My Feet” bracelet on his wrist. The initial toxicology reports show that his blood tested positive for nicotine, alcohol and cocaine.
Much has been reported about Bailey’s past run-ins with the law and issues with substance abuse. They’re facts Brown has no issue acknowledging.
“I understand about his past, but he’s a human. He’s someone who had people that cared about him. He’s just not someone you can dispose, or just another Black male that was shot down,” she said.
“As I said it plenty of times before, if my brother was guilty that night, he should’ve been locked up. I’m not saying let him go free or do whatever, but I should’ve had the chance to go visit my brother, to talk to my brother,” said Brown. “(There have) been other cases where white men have led the police on chases, had drug possession, had guns, but they’re still alive. White men have killed white police officers, and they’re still alive. My brother didn’t have a gun, wasn’t trying to reach for anything in the middle of his console. It was a car crash, and then he was killed.”
Problems with the process
Following the press conference, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry’s office released this statement to the media: “Our office has received IMPD’s investigation and just this week received the Coroner’s report on the death of Mr. Aaron Bailey. In addition, Prosecutor Curry has directed investigators assigned to our office to follow up on information which may be pertinent to the investigation. This matter remains a priority for our office. More information will be provided on the anticipated next steps in the process as the investigative phase concludes.”
Curry’s investigation is among three ongoing inquiries into the case; IMPD and the FBI investigations are also underway.
Craig Karpe, attorney for Bailey’s family, questioned the pace of the investigation.
“Our stance has been and continues to be that the investigation seems to be taking long on this. If it were anyone else besides a police officer involved, there would have been an arrest at this point,” Karpe said. “We certainly would like to see charges brought, if only to show the importance of these issues and to highlight how necessary it is to have justice.”
Karpe said being granted access to view Bailey’s car on Aug. 4 was the family’s first glimpse into what occurred June 29, despite numerous attempts to get updates from IMPD and Curry.
“I understand Prosecutor Curry’s position that he needs to safeguard the rights of the accused so that they are not prejudiced in the press and that’s his reason for not sharing information with us. But on the other hand, it’s been a month and a half, looking at going on two months pretty soon here, and as I’ve said before, if it was any other case we would have seen some movement or some decision,” Karpe added. “We’ve had minimal cooperation in that they gave us access to the vehicle. That’s really the only cooperation we’ve received from their office, the only information we’ve received from them. We haven’t got anything on their investigation or where they’re at.”
Continued pursuit of justice
Karpe shared that he and his team of investigators and ballistics engineers are nearing the end of their own investigation and plan to file a civil complaint soon.
“At this time I’m not prepared to announce a dollar figure that we’re looking for,” he said.
Brown noted that though she has grown disheartened with the investigative process, she remains positive that her family will get the justice they’re pursuing.
“My faith is in God. With the police officers, I respect them. I don’t have any type of faith in their process,” she said.
“We’re not gonna slow down. We’re going to keep doing as much as we can as far as contacting the prosecutor’s office. We’re not gonna rest. … We will keep saying his name as we say the names of other Black lives that have been lost.”
Approximately 11 shots struck Aaron Bailey’s late-model Cadillac. Four of the shots resulted in fatal injury.
