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On March 7, news broke about a shooting near N. Pennsylvania and E. Washington. Police arrived shortly before 2:00 am to find one person, later identified as Jamar Thomas, shot in the abdomen. The police arrested one person, Lamonte Thomas, that night. Three days later, the IMPD stated they arrested Jamar Thomas in connection with the shooting. Both Lamonte and Jamar are Black.
What they left out was that neither Lamonte nor Jamar fired a weapon that night, nor did they have weapons on them. A white man named Christian Bunnell shot and ultimately killed Jamar Tomas. Furthermore, the Center’s research into the responding officers revealed that one officer on the scene has over 100 documented use-of-force incidents, the majority involving Black residents.
At no point was Bunnell detained, charged, or arrested. Even after Det. Ronald Clayton “noticed an empty gun holster in the front part of his waistband with no retention strap,” Det. Ortega generously removed it before bringing Bunnell to the station to give a statement.
The Probable Cause affidavit, filed March 10, includes testimony from Bunnell, his girlfriend Tracy Bennett, and two people the couple had known for a total of 90 minutes.
The altercation started when Bunnell confronted a still-unidentified Black man in an alley. Within that 90 minutes, Bunnell flashed his gun at the man. Bunnell admitted as much to the cops, recalling he said he “wasn’t about throwing hands.” Lamonte told the Indianapolis Liberator Bunnell also yelled he would “kill anybody.”
Lamonte and his uncle, Jamar, intervened. As he wrestled the gun from the drunken 21-year old, Jamar was shot in the abdomen. At that point, Lamonte held Bunnell down until the police arrived. Instead of getting a hero’s welcome, however, he was booked and faces three felonies and one misdemeanor–all related to an alleged attempted robbery. In court documents, Bunnell told police “he believed the men were with the person in the alley because that’s the only way they would’ve known he had a gun,” according to Arriana Sergio of WTHR.
Jamar was at Eskanazi hospital and seemed to be recovering well, according to his fiance, Keanda Young. Young, who remained by his side, described Jamar as “highly coherent,” able to squeeze her hand, eat, and even applaud the doctors who were treating him. During that time, the police did not question Jamar, which did not stop them from issuing a warrant for his arrest. That’s when everything changed, she stated in an interview with Naptown People’s Radio.
Young, who was Jamar’s emergency contact, wasn’t allowed to see him, nor was she given any information about his condition. Jamar died on March 24. Young and the rest of Jamar’s family learned about his death not from the cops but from Lamonte while he was still locked up.
After the family spoke out at an April 2 press conference and, together with members of the Indianapolis Liberation Center, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office was forced to respond. They issued the following statement:
“This investigation is still in its early stages and remains ongoing. The case may continue to develop as additional information becomes available. At this time, no final determinations have been made regarding the culpability of any individuals involved.”
At the time of the statement, Lamonte remained imprisoned at the Marion County “Justice” Campus. Further, in response to a request for a statement, the IMPD told Adam Selph of WISH TV that the agency “turned over all evidence in this case, including video footage, to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO). Charging decisions rest entirely with the prosecutor’s office.”
The Indianapolis branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation obtained the report police provided the media, which we analyze below.
IMPD’s “investigation” and bogus charges
The media’s narrative of the sequence of events were pieced together through a six-page police report. The report reveals that many of the witnesses were leaving bars, eating tacos at the Five Guys situated on the corner of Washington and Pennsylvania.
There is only one mention of the altercation involving an attempted robbery. The officer asked a witness, “do you think they (Jamar and Lamonte) were going to beat him up or rob him? A.S. replied “absolutely.” Yet, the witness A.S. did not clarify if Jamar and Lamonte were going to beat him up or rob him. She simply stated “absolutely” to the either/or question. This one “eyewitness statement” is the only leg the IMPD has to stand on that it was an attempted robbery.
In her statement, another witness told the IMPD, “I was drunk and an idiot, so I got in the middle of them (Christian and a Black man in the alley) and was just trying to be silly to calm it down, and I thought that worked because the guy backed away.”
Another witness claimed to be eating tacos outside of Five Guys but could not hear what anyone was saying. Another witness was the killer’s girlfriend.
In an exclusive interview with Lamonte Thomas after his pre-trial hearing on April 21, Lamonte told the Indianapolis Liberator he had $325 on his person when he was detained by police and later arrested and charged with attempted robbery. When he was released on bond, however, the jail returned all of his items–including the $325. “If I am a robber, wouldn’t you want to ensure the money I had in my pocket wasn’t stolen?”
Media starts scrutinizing IMPD narratives as their lies unravel
It wasn’t until the April 2 press conference, when Williams and Young courageously spoke out against the cops, that the media started to question the IMPD’s misleading and incoherent statement.
Ten days later, on April 12, the IMPD arrested 18-year-old Dailen Brewer after claiming he pointed a gun at Sgt. Robyn Frazier, a 17-year veteran. In a Facebook post, they claimed “Brewer made a gesture like he pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.” “In each moment,” IMPD Chief Tanya Terry stated, “our officers responded with professionalism and action, maintained control under extreme pressure, and prevented what could have been tragic outcomes.” There was only one problem: not only did the probable cause affidavit contradict the post, but witness testimony and Frazier’s bodycam footage confirmed Brewer did not point a weapon at any officer at any point in time. Although the charges were dropped on April 20, that was after he was arrested, fired from his job, and had his mugshot peppered throughout the national news.
Then, there was the white man, Joel Rector, who was shot by IMPD while holding an airgun on his property and challenging IMPD’s bogus narrative that he was attempting to attack his 67-year-old neighbor.
How the people can win
Outrageously, Lamonte still faces a trial jury set to begin on July 13 at 8:30 a.m. at the Community “Justice” Campus. We need to ensure that trial never takes place and the real killer and his accomplices–the IMPD officers who let him walk away freely that night–face charges.
For now, the video remains unseen, the shooter remains at-large, Jamar Thomas’ family and community have to cope with the trauma of losing a loved one, and Lamonte Thomas’ future hangs in the balance.
Together, we’re making three reasonable demands:
- The prosecutor must release all footage, reports, and evidence for independent review.
- Drop the charges on Lamonte and Jamar Thomas immediately.
- Arrest and charge the shooter, Christian Bunnell, with the murder of Jamar Thomas.
Sign the petition and show your support!
The family says they know the truth, and they have a much better track record than the IMPD. They are asking anyone with information about the March 7 shooting or acquaintances of the shooter Christian Bunnell to contact the Indianapolis Liberation Center at 317-721-3789 or info@indyliberationcenter.org. The Indianapolis Liberation Center continues accepting donations to support the fight against racist injustice and invigorate our volunteer organizers to build on our gains towards liberation.The family says they know the truth. They are asking the city to see it too and stand with them.
Featured photo: Jamar’s son speaking into a microphone at a vigil for Jamar Thomas. Credit: Indianapolis Liberation Center.