US Police Shoot Black Man Who Reported Wife's Car Being Robbed

Indianapolis police shot a Black man outside his own garage Tuesday after he reported that his wife’s car was being robbed. Police shot him upon arrival as soon while the robber fled the scene, local media reported.

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Early Tuesday in Indianapolis, Indiana, an African-American woman was being carjacked in front of her home in her working-class neighborhood. She ran back in the house, told her husband, who is also Black, and they called the police to report the robbery.

According to the police and a 911 call played during a press conference, the Black homeowner called the police after an armed man stole his wife's keys and attempted to steal the car.

The police arrived at the scene and saw the car outside the house. However, as soon as the garage door opened they saw the husband and one officer shot him in the stomach. The husband had a gun he owns and was trying to use it for protection.

"Our homeowner, the individual who was trying his best protect himself and his wife from any other harm, was shot mistakenly by our officers," police chief Richard Riddle said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference, according to Indy Star.

"This incident occurred within a few seconds, and those judgment calls are made within a few split seconds. She was victimized, and unfortunately now, her husband was victimized as well."

According to the latest reports, the robber in fact had fled the scene before the police arrived and is still on the run.

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"I think that's really crazy. What do we have, trigger-happy police officers out here now?" asked Angela Parrot, who lives in the neighborhood, as reported by the Indy Star. The husband is in the hospital recovering from the gun wound.

The incident underscores how police in the U.S. make swift judgements that often result in the injury and death of innocent individuals.

The two most recent police killings of Black men strike a similar note. Philando Castile was shot and killed by police in his own car upon reaching for his wallet, while Alton Sterling was shot repeatedly in his back as he lay, detained by police, on the ground.

“This family needed help. They wanted to report a crime in their neighborhood. The husband wanted to protect his wife. These are all very basic rights we have, but day after day we see that gun rights don't really apply equally to African Americans,” commentator Shaun King wrote in a column for the New York Daily News.