Matt Larimer, August 1st, 2026

A shooting that occurred last week on the east side of Indianapolis resulted in the death of 21 year old Dalys Jett and the hospitalization of two IMPD officers. In the days following, the IMPD changed its description of the events, and delayed the release of body camera footage. 

Deputy Chief of Investigations Kendale Adams originally stated that, “During the encounter, the male fired shots, striking two IMPD officers. At least three officers returned fire, striking the suspect at least once.”

An update posted to the IMPD facebook page on July 30th stated, “Based on the evidence reviewed to date, investigators preliminarily believe the second officer was struck by gunfire from another officer.”

In another update Chief Tanya Terry announced that the officers involved in the shooting were 11-year officer Donald Meier, 4-year officer Jessica Dickinson, and 3-year officer Michael Totten.

Following the IMPD updates, Pastor Davanta Scruggs, a spokesperson for the family of Jett, released the following statement”

“Today, IMPD postponed our family’s scheduled review of the complete, unredacted body camera footage, informing us that Officer Jessica Dickinson would first be allowed to review the video before our family because she had not yet provided a statement regarding the incident. Hours later, IMPD publicly changed key aspects of its original account, now stating that one officer was struck by another officer’s gunfire. IMPD also now says that while the gun in Dalys possession was fired and a bullet struck an officer’s protective vest, investigators are no longer definitively stating that Dalys fired the gun. As a family, we are heartbroken, frustrated, and deeply disappointed. Every new development leaves us with more questions than answers and deepens the pain we have carried since the day Dalys was taken from us. We refuse to allow delays or changing narratives to stand in the way of the truth. We call on IMPD to immediately allow our family to review the complete, unredacted body camera footage and release it to our family so the facts can speak for themselves.”

This incident has renewed a nationwide debate regarding whether police officers should be allowed to view body camera footage from an incident before providing their personal statements.

University of Massachusetts law professor Hillary Farber advocates a “Write Before You Watch” policy stating that, “Access and exposure to the footage creates the appearance, if not the likelihood, that an officer will conform their report to match the recording.”