According to information collected by the Washington Post in their “Police Shootings Database,” there has been a 36% increase in fatal shootings by police over the first six months of 2024 (15) compared to the first six months of 2023 (11).

This increase continued the dramatic rise seen from July to December of 2023, when there were 22 fatal shootings. These statistics are alarming considering there were only 17 fatal law enforcement shootings in all of 2022.

The most recent death occurred in Evansville on July 2nd, when police responded to a 911 call that resulted in a standoff with 36-year-old Kyle Puckett. Body camera and drone footage captured the majority of the incident.

The data collected by the Post includes the date of the shooting, the name, age, gender, and race of the deceased, the location of the event, and whether or not body camera footage captured the shooting.

Of the fatalities so far in 2024, body camera footage recorded the shootings in only nine of them, and the timing of the release of that footage varied widely. In some instances just days after the shooting and in others months later.

Two recent shootings in Fort Wayne highlight this difference. In November of 2023 Fort Wayne police officers responded to a 911 call which resulted in the shooting death of 20-year-old Dachena Warren-Hill. However, the body camera footage of the incident was not released until February of 2024.

In contrast, the body camera footage from the shooting of Linzell Parhm was released just days after his death. Not only is the timing of the release of footage dictated by local police departments, it is often done through highly orchestrated presentations edited and administered by the department itself.

In 2023, body cameras failed to capture almost half of fatal police shootings, despite nearly all departments in Indiana having adopted their use. Sometimes the view of the camera is blocked, in others the cameras are not activated, and on some occasions the footage is not released.

In the May 2nd shooting death of Lemar Qualls, IMPD officer Ivan Flick’s body camera was not activated, but a nearby door bell camera was able to capture the details of the incident which occurred on the front porch of a home.

In the November 17th, 2023 shooting death of Leandre Houston, IMPD officer Mitchel Farnsley was pursuing Houston on foot and shot Houston from behind a fence. Due to the angle of the shooting the fence entirely blocked the view of the officers body camera.

In some incidents, body camera footage is available but is not released. According to reports, body cameras recorded the shooting death of Joshua Richards by a Beech Grove police officer on May 1st of 2024, but the footage still has not been released.

These trends are concerning and serve as growing evidence that Indiana desperately needs to adopt new rules governing the collection, review, and release of body camera footage around the state.