IMPD identifies officer who fatally shot man following domestic violence call

This story has been updated.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Tuesday identifed the officer who fatally shot a man after responding to a domestic violence call early Tuesday morning on the city’s south side.

Bryan Gibson is a five-year veteran of IMPD. He has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

The Marion County Coroner’s Office identified the man as 37-year-old Eric Levon Taylor.

According to police, shortly after 3 a.m., officers responded to a report of a domestic disturbance involving a weapon. A woman called and said a man was going to “kill them all.”

Officers found the woman who called police near Madison Avenue and East Southport Road. She told officers she received a call from someone that her ex-boyfriend was coming to her house to kill her, police said. She told police she left her home with her children but her ex-boyfriend followed her.

Police found the suspect’s vehicle and tried to stop him. A short pursuit occurred and ended on the 1800 block of Portage Terrace when the man stopped the car and stepped out. He held a handgun and repeatedly told officers to shoot him, police said.

According to IMPD, officers told the man multiple times to put the gun down and get on the ground. “At some point” one officer fired his weapon and struck the suspect, according to a news release.

The man then fell into the vehicle’s passenger seat, and officers commanded him to show his hands. Police said officers then approached the man and provided him with medical treatment. The man was taken to a Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition where he later died.

Detectives found a handgun at the scene of the incident, according to police.

The IMPD Critical Incident Response Team and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office responded to the scene to conduct a criminal investigation.

IMPD Internal Affairs will conduct a separate administrative investigation. The officer who shot the man has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.

After the criminal process, the civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will hold a hearing.

Several people have been fatally shot by Indianapolis police officers in recent weeks. On Aug. 3, an IMPD officer shot and killed a man following a traffic stop. And on Aug. 27, an IMPD officer shot and killed a man who was reportedly experiencing a hallucinatory episode and wielding a machete.

Contact WFYI criminal justice reporter Katrina Pross at kpross@wfyi.org. Pross is a Corps Member of Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project.