Date set in civil lawsuit in Aaron Bailey death
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A date has been set in the civil lawsuit in the death of Aaron Bailey.
According to online court records, the trial is scheduled for March 25, 2019.
The suit names the city of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and officers Carlton Howard and Michael Dinnsen.
Howard and Dinnsen were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a special prosecutor from St. Joseph County on Oct. 31.
The prosecutor, Ken Cotter, determined the officers acted in self-defense when firing at Bailey on June 29.
After being pulled over that morning, Bailey led officers on a chase before crashing his vehicle. Officers saw Bailey “digging” through the center console of his vehicle and fired 11 shots at him, striking him four times. Officers said that Bailey ignored instructions to show his hands.
26-year old Shiwanda Ward, who was in the car with Bailey, was arrested on a charge of possession of paraphernalia. She, along with the officers, was unharmed in the shooting.
The special prosecutor’s report stated that Bailey was driving on a suspended license. Ward said the battery in Bailey’s GPS ankle bracelet had died and that is why he thought he was being pulled over.
On the same day as that announcement was made, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett called on the department to “launch a full administrative review into the actions that led to this police action shooting” and to “complete it as quickly as is responsible.”
In a meeting on Nov. 3, the officers spoke before IMPD’s Firearms Review Board. It was then determined that the officers did not comply with department training and policy.