According to IMPD, a suspect accused of escaping police and swallowing drugs died in a hospital.
Around 4:40 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, an undercover IMPD officer with the FBI Safe Streets Taskforce observed a drug transaction involving a man with a gun.
The undercover officer requested assistance from the IMPD Criminal Interdiction Section and other IMPD officers to undertake a narcotics investigation on the subject.
Detectives followed the vehicle to East 30th Street and North Post Road on Indianapolis’ east side.
According to IMPD, the subject refused to stop while detectives attempted to pull the automobile over.
During the chase, IMPD officers reported seeing the suspect hit a mailbox and an IMPD car, causing damage to the front bumper. The police confirmed that the officer did not sustain any injuries.
The chase ended after about six minutes when the suspect collided with an uninvolved vehicle near the 9200 block of Neptune Drive, between East 25th Street and North Post Road.
Doctors on the scene checked out and released the driver and child passenger in the uninvolved vehicle, according to police reports.
According to the police, the suspect fled the car after the crash, but they pursued him and managed to bring him to ground.
Police claimed the guy battled and resisted officers’ attempts to arrest him, placing his hands in his mouth and apparently taking drugs.
Officers then handcuffed the guy and placed him in custody. According to IMPD, officers urged the guy several times to spit out the suspected drugs, but he refused.
According to police, the suspect was alive and breathing at the site.
The suspect allegedly vomited the suspected drugs during transport to Eskenazi Hospital.
When the suspect arrived at the hospital, according to the police, his condition deteriorated, and they subsequently pronounced him dead.
The Marion County Coroner’s Office will identify the deceased and determine his manner and cause of death after notifying the family.
Officers found a gun in the suspect’s car, which they collected and will present as evidence, along with the drugs the suspect threw up, according to IMPD.
The IMPD Critical Incident Response Team went to the area to perform a death investigation. IMPD Internal Affairs is launching a separate administrative investigation.
IMPD confirmed that several officers were wearing body cameras, which they activated during the incident.