Sean Reed's family horrified as cop is heard mocking dead veteran: 'It’s going to be a closed casket, homie'
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: An unidentified officer was heard laughing and saying how it will be a 'closed casket' funeral for 21-year-old African-American Air Force veteran, Sean Reed, who was gunned down by the Indianapolis police on Wednesday, May 6, after he was caught speeding and driving recklessly on Interstate 65. And this has outraged the victim's family.
The harrowing incident that made hundreds of members of the black community to take to the streets to protest police brutality just hours after the fatal shooting, was witnessed by around 4,000 followers on Facebook where the victim was live-streaming the moments that led up to his death. Most of the live stream was blurry since Sean's camera shook a lot as he attempted to flee from the cops after the car chase ended. Also, a lot of inaudible screaming was heard in the background.
At one point his phone falls facing the sky as approximately 14 shots ring out. After a period of silence, a number of police sirens could be heard nearby and someone repeatedly yelling, “oh my god."
A different version of the broadcast captured a conversation among police officers off-camera after the shooting, although it was unclear who was speaking. “I think it’s going to be a closed casket, homie,” a man could be heard saying as he laughed. In the end, a man bent down and shielded the camera with his notebook and turned it off.
Sean's uncle, Tyrell Reed, told TMZ that the family's grief was made worse by the disgusting comment supposedly made by a detective. He said as if the pain of seeing a family member killed on camera was not bad enough, the officer's mocking remark moments after his nephew was shot to death would be burned into their minds forever.
The police chief called the remark "unacceptable" and assured the public that the official who made the remark will be disciplined. The policeman who carried out the shooting has been placed on administrative leave, pending an investigation into the incident. “IMPD closely scrutinizes all uses of force, as we hold every officer to our high standards,” the department said in a statement.
Among the people who gathered to protest Sean's death near the crime scene on May 7, were his sister Jazmine Reed and aunt Ashley Reed.
Jazmine said that her brother had not committed a crime for which he had to end up losing his life. "Just to know it's my little brother... I shouldn't have to bury my little brother," she said. "They could have tased him, beat him up. He could be behind bars, but now he'll be in a casket the next time I see him."
She concluded that the one thing that she would miss the most about her brother would be his "smile." "He was a ladies' man for sure. I got a 2-year-old, and she loved her uncle so much," Jazmine said.
Ashley said like the rest of the world, she found out that her nephew had been shot through the Facebook live stream. "He was like 'Oh, sh--!' and he fell and I heard gunshots and he fell," she said. Clips of the live broadcast later went viral on Twitter where #SeanReed started trending.
Sean was a Lawrence North High School graduate who spent a year with the Air Force. At the time he managed to get an education by traveling between Texas and Indianapolis.