Sign and share the petition demanding justice for Dalys Jett here!
On July 22, IMPD officers Donald Meier, Jessica Dickinson, and Michael Totten shot and killed Dalys Jett, a 21-year-old college student and father to a young child. Two of the cops were “injured” and taken to Eskenazi Hospital. One cop, who was transported in a police car, was released shortly after while the other remained in the hospital for over a week. The IMPD immediately slandered Jett, telling the press, which reprinted the claim without any qualification, that, “After Jett shot at police, at least three officers returned fire.”
At a press conference early the next day, IMPD Chief Tanya Terry stated, “If there’s anything that you should take away from tonight, it should be this: tonight, our officers showed up to protect someone in need.”
“And they were met with violence,” she continued, “and that is not OK. It’s not OK today. It’s not OK ever.”
The day after Chief Terry praised our “brave protectors,” the cops were forced to admit that Dickinson—the officer who was seriously wounded—was shot by a fellow officer and not Jett. At this point, media reports were no longer reprints of police statements. In FOX 59’s article, for example, they changed their wording to “IMPD claims Jett fired shots at the officers” (emphasis added). In a rare move, on July 30 the IMPD walked their initial story further back, stating they could only confirm that forensic testing matched a bullet retrieved from the other cop’s bulletproof vest to Jett’s gun. As of this writing, nearly a month later, they still have not said how the bullet traveled from Jett’s gun to the IMPD officer’s protective vest.
Meanwhile, Jett’s family was organizing with the community to demand access to the unredacted bodycam footage from the incident in accordance with state law. They were scheduled to view footage on July 30 just before the IMPD issued their revised account, but the cops delayed it until Dickinson was able to review it first and issue her official statement, allegedly to protect the “integrity” of the investigation.
Finally, on August 12, Dalys’s father, Derrick Jett, viewed some of the bodycam footage of the minutes before the cops took Dalys’s life. Rev. Davanta Scruggs, a Pastor and family friend serving as their spokesperson, released a statement that read:
“Here is what the family can tell you. In the recordings that were played to Dalys’ father yesterday, he did not see his son fire a weapon at a police officer. The family does not know what is in the recordings the department would not show him. That is exactly why they want them released.”
Rev. Scruggs reiterated that the family is not making any accusations. Unlike the cops and media stenographers, they want access to all of the evidence before doing so. How likely is it that, out of the entire body of material available, the cops wouldn’t select footage containing a “smoking gun,” or definitive proof Jett shot at the cops? Why would they reserve that for the remaining footage they want to force the family to acquire through litigation?
IMPD’s record of lying in 2026
PSL Indianapolis, which was one of many groups who helped organize a community vigil and press conference on August 7 at Hovey St. Church of Christ, continues supporting the family and their decisions. However, as organizers who have struggled against IMPD terror for years, we have good reason not to believe the IMPD. In fact, anyone paying attention to police in this city over the last few years would at least be extremely skeptical of any of their claims.
In April, Sergeant Robyn Frazier arrested Dailen Brewer, a Black teenager and charged him with attempted murder in Riverside Park. As written in a sworn affidavit—meaning under penalty of perjury—she alleged that, as she approached the vehicle, “Brewer appeared to be pointing a revolver towards Sgt. Frazier… Brewer raised the revolver, then dropped the gun and raised both hands.” Afterwards, Chief Terry praised Sgt. Frazier who, she said, survived a “rapidly escalating and extremely dangerous” encounter and “responded with professionalism.” As bodycam footage soon revealed, Sgt. Frazier lied about the entire incident. Throughout the altercation, Brewer’s hands were raised and nowhere near the legal firearms in the car.
In February, the IMPD claimed Jamar and Lamonte Thomas, two Black men, attempted to rob Christian Bunnell, a 21-year-old white man who was brandishing a firearm in public. Bunnell admitted to the cops he was flashing his weapon at a Black man in an alley (who the police have not sought out). Lamonte Thomas told journalists from the Indianapolis Liberator Bunnell said he would “kill anybody.” Bunnell was escorted by friendly officers after he shot Jamar in the abdomen, an injury that would ultimately result in his death. Meanwhile, Lamonte was locked up for attempted armed robbery despite the fact that no one the police questioned stated they witnessed an attempted armed robbery and after Lamonte was released from jail, authorities returned the entire $325 he had on him the night of the arrest (instead of, say, marking it as evidence).
It wasn’t until the family spoke out at a widely-covered press conference that the media started telling the real side of the story: Lamonte and Jamar Thomas were heroes that night. However, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears has still not dropped the ludicrous charges against Lamonte Thomas.
No Chief has tried to fire killer cops since the Merit Board protected Aaron Bailey’s murderers. Instead of holding any cops accountable, the IMPD repeatedly shifts the blame to the community and slanders its victims. If it is just a few “bad apples” that spoil the whole bunch, why haven’t they removed a single bad apple? The answer is obvious: the bunch is already irredeemably rotten.
Featured photo: A November 2023 rally outside Prosecutor Mears’ office demanding Douglas Correll, the cop who shot Gary Harrell in his back and killed him, face criminal charges. Credit: Indianapolis Liberation Center.