News round-up: Powerful press conference corrects IMPD, media on downtown shooting

Editorial introduction

On April 2 at the Indianapolis Liberation Center, organizers and those closest to Jamar and Lamonte Thomas broke the story of the March 7 shooting downtown wide open.

For nearly a month, the IMPD produced an incoherent narrative with scant evidence that painted a completely upside-down picture: A white man waving a gun was a victim of a “failed robbery” by two Black men who were unarmed. The white man who shot—and eventually killed—one of those men, Jamar Thomas, was the victim. Jamar, they said, was assailant, along with Lamonte Thomas, who held the drunken armed man on the ground until the police arrived. The IMPD would place bogus charges on both Black men while the shooter was taken at his word and walked away freely.

Clearly, journalists were also skeptical of the IMPD’s version of events as numerous local outlets packed in Liberation Center where those closest to Jamar and Lamonte corrected the IMPD’s story. They explained the events of that night as well as the true character of Jamar and Lamonte Thomas.

Now that the truth is out, we are pushing for answers from IMPD and the Prosecutor’s Office—and they are pushing back. That’s why we need you to review the articles and interviews below to learn more about Jamar and Lamonte Thomas and help us fight for their innocence.