An Indianapolis man shot at least 30 times by police is filing a lawsuit against the officers who unloaded a barrage of bullets into the rental car he was sleeping in at his grandmother’s home.
“I just looked to my right and left and immediately was getting shot at,” Anthony Maclin said during a press conference.
Maclin, 24, was awakened to the sight of several police officers with their guns drawn and pointed at him before firing multiple gunshots.
Police said they received a 911 call around 4 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2022, about a suspicious vehicle. The caller, Vicki Driver, who is Maclin’s grandmother, told the dispatcher, “There’s a car backed up in my driveway, and it sounds like it’s still running.”
Driver went on to say she turned her porch light on and off, and no one got out. She said she didn’t know if it was one of her kids because no one exited the vehicle.
When three Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers arrived, they approached the vehicle and can be heard on body-worn camera saying, “he’s got a gun right there on his lap.”
It’s unclear, based on the edited video, how long officers probed the car, looking inside to see the sleeping man. The officers asked Driver if she had relatives in Florida where the rental car was registered carrying Florida plates. The woman said she did not have any relatives living in Florida.
According to police, after three minutes of probing the car, they knocked on the passenger side window, which awoke Maclin. As he began to move, the officers started yelling, “Police! Police! Police!”
Some 10 seconds after knocking on the window and yelling “police,” the officers started firing more than a dozen rounds into the vehicle.
As the gunfire subsides, Driver can be heard yelling in the background, “What?! That’s my grandson!”
The officers yelled at Maclin to get out of the car.
“Get out of the car with your hands up! Get on the ground, get on the ground!” Officer Chandler yells.
Meanwhile, Driver continues to tell police, “That’s my grandson,” as she realizes who was inside the car.
As officers continue to order Maclin to the ground, Driver says, “Get on the ground, baby!”
As officers place handcuffs on Maclin, Driver is heard in the background saying, “That’s my grandson, he’s OK! He fell asleep!”
The officers called for paramedics and began rendering aid to the 24-year-old. Maclin can be heard telling the officers, “You hit me in the thighs, you guys have got to get me help.”
As Maclin receives initial medical help, Driver asks him, “Is he hurt? I’m so sorry, baby. How come you didn’t come in the house?”
Maclin replied, “I didn’t want to wake you guys up.”
A distraught Driver says aloud, “Oh, what have I done?! Oh, he’s bleeding!”
Maclin continues to wince in pain as paramedics arrive to Driver’s home.
“Lord, why am I dying, Lord. I love you, Grandma,” Maclin says to his shaken-up grandmother.
“I love you too, it’s going to be OK,” Driver replied.
Maclin was transported to the hospital where he survived his injuries.
Officers Lucas Riley, Alexander Gregory and Carl Chandler were placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
On Feb. 6, Maclin hired attorneys from Wagner Reese law firm to represent him in a civil lawsuit against the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department for excessive force.
Maclin’s lawyers told WXIN the officers sent more than 30 rounds into the car. “Maclin was hit three times and suffered life-threatening injuries,” then went on to say he spent 17 days in the hospital and needed six surgeries for wounds to his thighs and back.
Maclin’s lawyers raised authenticity questions surrounding the released bodycam video from police. They claimed police only told Maclin “raise your hands” just as officers begin to shoot at him. However, in the released bodycam, officers yelled “police” and “hands up” simultaneously for roughly seven seconds before opening fire.
“Only announcements for me when I got out of the car, and that was to put my hands up,” Maclin said during a press conference.
“The officers had no justification whatsoever to use deadly force on Anthony,” Maclin’s attorneys said, the Indianapolis Star reported.
“Anthony never picked up his handgun. He never pointed it at the officers. He never threatened the officers. He was not breaking any laws,” Maclin’s attorneys added.
Maclin’s attorney also said he was licensed to carry a firearm and called the shooting “shocking and unjustified.”
Maclin revealed his recovery has been a painful one less than two months removed from the shooting.
“I’m in a lot of pain. It’s hard to sleep, it’s hard to eat certain foods, and my breathing is bad. I’m pretty banged up,” Maclin said.
“My back hurts really bad, my L-5 spine is fractured and causes a lot of pain. Hopefully, I’ll recover and have a good recovery,” he added.
The family says they want the officers involved to be fired and face criminal charges.
