Cop Shoots Homeowner Who Called 911 Over Attempted Carjacking
Indianapolis police are investigating the shooting while the officer is on leave.


Indianapolis resident Carl Williams called 911 early yesterday morning after a man tried to carjack his wife at gunpoint in front of their home. As Fox 59 reports, Officer Christopher Mills arrived at the scene with his siren off, which police say is standard protocol for such calls. He approached the vehicle in the driveway and then shot Williams in the stomach when the armed Williams walked out of his home. Police say Mills mistook Williams for the alleged carjacker, who were both black. Williams is in the hospital and expected to survive.
In his 911 call, Williams also provided a description of the clothes the suspect was wearing, which was relayed to Mills. Police released audio of both the 911 call and the call between the dispatcher and Mills, who can be heard saying "shots fired" (he was the only one who fired shots).
"Officers weren't initially sure if the suspect was still with the vehicle," Indianapolis Metropolitan assistant police chief Randal Taylor told reporters. "The husband was out with the weapon, and unfortunately the husband was shot by one of our officers."
Mills has been placed on leave while police investigate the shooting. They also say they are still looking for the carjacking suspect.
Related: What About Zero Tolerance for Cops?
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Panic. Fire.
Well, what else is he supposed to do when he sees a black man with a gun?
Black Guns Matter.
Sooo... Do NOT call the cops, even if you're being mauled by a horde of terrorist bears and rabid skunks, 'cause the first things the cops will do, is randomly start shooting you or your dog...
The husband was out with the weapon, and unfortunately the husband was shot by one of our officers.
An officer's service weapon discharged and in the process of the officer securing the scene an individual became shot.
Seriously though, you know it's bad when they use the bare minimum of euphemisms.
This is how you do passive voice and include vague terms and put the chase off on the ultimate victim:
Police: An 'encounter' happened after driver led trooper on chase
Fuck, that all happened because the cop wanted to write a speeding ticket?
And people say laws aren't backed up with the threat of bodily harm.
Let me guess: the deaf guy didn't notice the flashers and couldn't hear the siren. And when they started screaming at them and he started signing to indicate he was deaf, they interperted it as a furtive movement...
For all the trooper knew the perp was signing at him his intention to lunge.
The passive voice isn't the problem. "The deaf guy was murdered by the pig" is passive voice, and may not the best style choice, but gives you the proper description of things.
"An encounter happened" is not passive voice, but is weaselly and deliberately unclear.
Sorry, someone has to do it.
Hey, at least the perpetrator wasn't shot. That's... something.
A report of a man threatening people with a gun. And they sent one officer?
I am having a hard time working up outrage. Anyone would be scared walking into that situation. Also, never walk into the presence of the cops while holding a gun in your hand.
Can you at least be outraged at the police department who only sent one officer into an objectively dangerous situation?
They didn't send only one officer. He got there first, without using his lights and siren.
That made the situation far more dangerous. The whole point of going in silent is to get sufficient backup to the scene without alerting the suspect that the police are on the way.
This guy went in silent, alone, and neither the suspect nor the homeowner knew he was there. Double dangerous.
This is why we need to disarm america.
Well, except for the cops and the military, and the IRS, and the FDA, and the DEA, and NOAA, and BLM, and the USPS and....
The guy didn't know the cops had arrived.
Also, they sent more than one officer. He got there first, unannounced, and immediately got right in the middle of the situation instead of trying to contain it
Is there any actual evidence the gun was in the guy's hand or by "armed" Ed meant that it was holstered?
Why weren't the first cops to arrive shot by the last cops to arrive? Were they not armed?
+1 Iraqi Death Blossom
I think it really impressive that a tactic's name coined in "the Last Starfighter", a forgettable movie made in the 80's (full disclosure, I bought the book out of the scholastic catalog as a kid), was on someone's mind when they were in Iraq, and they managed to make the name stick.
Forgettable?
Speak for yourself! Flight of the Navigator was awesome too!
Yeah, I probably watched that 50 times when it was running on Cinemax every night.
"Should I stick my tongue in your ear now?"
I quite liked FotN.
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!
Forgettable?! YOU ARE DEAD TO ME!
You're forgettable Tarran. I bet you liked Avatar you cuckavatar.
Count me in on this, too. Robert Preston Sci-Fi rocks your lame ass.
Forgot the /sarc tag
Fuck that.
The cop's entire job is to walk into scary situations and not shoot the wrong person. It is entirely on him.
You wouldn't keep your gun on you if your wife had just been assaulted at gunpoint?
Apparently he wouldn't, no. And, I suspect, he'll insist at length why you're at fault for getting shot when you do so.
I don't know. Suthenboy is a pretty big gun guy, which is why his response surprised me. Maybe he's just trying to be realistic.
But the whole damn problem is that cops come into situations that they have supposedly been trained for shitting their pants in fear.
I'm probably being unrealistic here too, but any cop should be willing to sacrifice his own life to make sure he doesn't kill the wrong person. If you aren't willing to do that, don't be a cop.
I was surprised too, which is why I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed sarcasm. I then began to feel that maybe I was too generous.
I think 100% of cops would disagree with your last statement. It would probably come to a shock to them that you even suggested it. Disclosure: I agree with you.
I am probably making the mistake of thinking everyone would handle situations with the mindset I do.
It's all on me. My opinion of other people is so low that I always assume if I don't stay on top of everything and think three steps ahead someone else will cause a disaster. It is why I never go through a green light without looking at all the cross traffic to be sure they are stopping. BTW that can be a good habit to have. It saved my wife and I at least twice.
"Why are you stopping? It's green, go!"
"No, he's...."
*guy blasts through red light right in front of us*
"Why are you stopping? It's green"
"You didn't see that....oh never mind"
I would have kept a close eye out for the arrival of the cop from the inside and when they arrived left my gun inside. I would have assumed the cop was dumb and panicky and likely to shoot at me if he saw a gun.
The guy didn't do anything wrong, the cop acted irresponsibly, but still he should have seen it coming.
Sadly, I find this to be true more often than not.
I am having a hard time working up outrage.
I'm not.
Anyone would be scared walking into that situation.
Cops are supposed to be able to handle themselves, even if they are all scairt.
Also, never walk into the presence of the cops while holding a gun in your hand.
Cop rolled up without lights and siren. The idea that cops are allowed to shoot anyone in their presence who has a gun, regardless of whether they are being threatened with it, has to go.
I just R'd TFA, and it's not clear that the homeowner was armed at all. I'm not certain where Ed's getting that detail, but unless I missed it it's not in the cited story. The cop thought he was armed and shot him, which is getting to be pretty standard.
In the cop's defense, I think it's reasonable to suppose that he saw the "stolen" car and a black dude backlit in the dark and thought that the carjacker had entered the house, but that still doesn't excuse opening fire as a precautionary measure.
There was already a violent murderous thug at the man's house, why would you call and invite more?
We've reached peak sarcasm, such that I don't know if you're referring to the home owner or the cop.
In all seriousness, I feel like grabbing a gun after you call the police to come to your house seems a bit stupid. Not "you should be shot" stupid because, you know, maybe the cop should have shouted a warning or something... just "you may be arrested/detained until they clear up who you are" stupid.
Believe it or not, there are still people out there who think this is America. For those poor deluded people, such a mistake is understandable.
Yeah, but it also seems like a really good idea when someone just attacked your wife with a gun. Tough call.
#Black Wives Matter
So if someone is trying to break into my house, where my daughter sleeps and I call the cops, you're saying that I should stop any further attempts at protecting myself or my family because the police might not know that many homeowners will stay armed in these situations and only reduce their defensive posture after helps arrive?
I mean isn't it at least foreseeable that many homeowners in the same situation will be armed when the police arrive?
Or should they just surrender and hope the police get there before it gets too bad?
Yeah, the problem here is with the police being stupid and/or scared. That's the problem, not the home owner's actions.
The cop needs to be willing to get shot to avoid making mistakes like this.
Agreed. We train officers that every single encounter is always a small mistake away from being deadly and then tell them to prioritize coming home over and above protecting the public.
Then politicians force them to increase their interactions with the public through tickets.
So even though the vast, vast majority of interactions between cops and the public does not result in requiring the police to fend for their lives, police are scared they will die on every stop, they openly prioritize "better judged by 12, than carried by 6", and politicians are looking to expand the number of interactions.
Result seems obvious, though with hindsight results always appear obvious, but the larger point I think is that focusing on race or whatever else, to the exclusion to the real problem, makes it almost a certainty that this will get much worse before it gets even a little better.
As it's impossible to fix any problem, if the problem isn't first defined correctly.
My dad was a cop. Can confirm they live by "better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6."
Ditto.
they openly prioritize "better judged by 12, than carried by 6"
Especially since they know full well that in all likelihood it will never get to the "judged by 12" stage anyway.
Or should they just surrender and hope the police get there before it gets too bad?
Yes, the proper protocol is to call the police then go hide in a closet or under your bed and pray they get there before it's too late. /prog-derp
No Mike. I am saying you should kill the motherfucker before calling the cops. When the cops arrive do not have a gun in your hand and don't say a word until you have a really good lawyer.
"At that point, the officer involved, 9-year veteran Christopher Mills, drove up to the house with his lights off to conceal his vehicle".
The police car is camouflage until he turns his lights on?
It's like Clark Kent with glasses.
Cops refer to that as "stealth mode"
Bitchin'.
Sigh.
He approached the vehicle in the driveway and then shot Williams in the stomach when the armed Williams walked out of his home. Police say Mills mistook Williams for the alleged carjacker, who were both black. Williams is in the hospital and expected to survive.
So it's standard procedure for the cops to shoot anyone on the scene who's armed, regardless or action, context or situation?
Well, at them. The officer's level of proficiency and terror will dictate if any of the shots hit their intended target.
I think so. Seriously. Anyone who is armed is a threat, and there is zero tolerance for anything that interferes with officer safety. So if someone is armed and not another cop, they are going to get shot. Doesn't matter if they are facing the other way. Shoot them in the back. With zero tolerance there is no room for judgement.
It's really anyone who is armed who isn't obviously a cop. As several cops out of uniform have discovered to their detriment.
T-
You beat me to it.
Victims of their own training. Seems like poetic justice.
Really the cops in Cleveland should have been punished for not just running over Tamir Rice then. Much quicker and safer.
How's everyone been? It's been forever since I posted. Nutpuches not withstanding.
Fine. Just fine.
Good. Good.
Other than the scaly rash on my testicles I am well, thank you.
You should air them out.
Get the sun on 'em! They will grow like tomatoes.
My wife left me, my kid is in therapy, and I am a total wreck. Other than that just peachy. Thanks for asking.
That sucks dude. Sorry to hear that confirmed. I wasn't sure if I should believe the asshole griefer troll.
Your wife leaving is for the best. She should've know she could not compete with Winston's mom.
What living woman could?
My wife left me,
My mule got lame,
Lost mah money
In a poker-her game!
(and my hemmerhoids have gouitered up my gout out my snout, and my booger beam is outta control; my pet goat accidentally stepped on my schwanze-schtucker, and even tho I KNEW it to be totally accidental, I booger-beamed him ta death anyway. I think I am turning into an outta-control mucus vampire!!!)
That's Carl "The Truth" Williams, thank you very much.
Asses were covered.
I remember a time when a police officer yelled sayings like "freeze turkey," and "drop it, dirtbag" at an armed man. I guess they don't teach that at the academy anymore.
The sight of a firearm cause the officer's bowels to evacuate momentarily striking him dumb. The officer's attempt to communicate manifested in fingers squeezing. The firearm subsequently discharged...
Modern cops don't have the restraint Dirty Harry had. True story.
That little lapse in time could interfere with officer safety. Instead they shout orders while shooting. More efficient and safe that way.
Is there any actual evidence the gun was in the guy's hand or by "armed" Ed meant that it was holstered?
My question, as well. Also, was it a marked car, with a light bar, or one of the innumerable unmarked cars roaming the streets of injanoplace?
Don't matter. He didn't have lights and siren on, and it was night. No reason for the victim-to-be to recognize it as a cop car, especially from inside the house.
I guess on the plus side, the guy is expected to survive. So, there's that. Hopefully he's also learned a valuable lesson about the virtues of vigilantism.
that he'll be able to retire early off of the settlement?
BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!11!!!!1!11!!!!!!
Settlement! That's the funniest damn thing I've read in weeks!
I remember a time when a police officer yelled sayings like "freeze turkey," and "drop it, dirtbag" at an armed man. I guess they don't teach that at the academy anymore.
"Lissen, Rookie- in the time it takes for you to come up with some sort of Constitutional witticism, that fleetfooted monkey motherfucker will be all over your ass. They're all hopped up on drain cleaner and floor wax and shit. He'll drop that gun plenty fast when you cap his ass."
Officer Christopher Mills arrived at the scene with his siren off, which police say is standard protocol for such calls. He approached the vehicle in the driveway and then shot Williams in the stomach when the armed Williams walked out of his home. Police say Mills mistook Williams for the alleged carjacker,
So the homeowner sees a stranger poking around out by the car, gets his gun and goes to see who this is out in his driveway but doesn't shoot - while the cop, seeing a stranger with a gun, automatically opens fire. Are we suggesting that if the homeowner were properly trained like the cop, he would have shot the cop immediately without question and we would now be reading about the "tragic accident" of a cop mistakenly being shot by a homeowner?
No, we wouldn't be talking about a tragic accident. We'd be talking about a gun owner facing life without parole, with much commentary about how this shows why nobody should own guns at all.
FTFY
You know what's missing from the official story so far?
I don't see any indication that the cop identified himself, ordered the victim-to-be to drop the gun, or anything. That's the kind of exculpatory detail they usually lead with, so its absence is puzzling.
It sounds like the cop rolled up on the house, no lights, no siren, got out with his gun in his hand, saw a black man with a gun, and shot him. All in less time than it took me to write that sentence.
I'm actually willing to give the cop a break on this one. (By which, I mean I don't think he should be crucified.) The officer arrived to a scence where a violent crime was taking place and an armed man approached him. His trigger finger shouldn't have been so twitchy, but I can understand it. The homeowner shouldn't have approached the officer with a drawn weapon.
I don't think he should be crucified
No. Guillotine would be adequate. No need to drag it out.
It is not at all clear from this post or the linked article that the man approached the cop with a weapon drawn.
"In his 911 call, Williams also provided a description of the clothes the suspect was wearing, which was relayed to Mills."
So a cop pulls up to what he believes may be an active carjacking, and someone approaches the cop with a gun.
Because the guy's clothes don't match the description he got over the radio, he's supposed to ignore the fact that he's been called to an active carjacking and there's a guy approaching him with a gun?
There's this thing called suicide by cop. It's when people who want to kill themselves but can't bring themselves to pull the trigger themselves go after the police with a gun--because they want the cops to shoot and kill them. That isn't what happened here, but it does go to show that if you want the cops to shoot you, approaching them with a gun when there's an active carjacking going on is a way some people commit suicide.
If you approach a cop with a gun during an active shooter situation, you can almost count on being shot, and some people do precisely that.
I hope the man who was shot makes a full and quick recovery, but if I knew there was an active shooter in the area, and someone approached me with a gun, I might look to defend myself--even if his clothes didn't match the description I'd heard about.
Too early to say what went down but a civilian has as much right to carry a gun as a cop. So unless the dude pointed the gun at the cop, I have a problem with it.
Calling the cops is guaranteed to make things worse.
The police are not looking for "the suspect." They are looking for the carjacker.