‘I’m going to kill her right now’: Bodycam video shows fatal Indianapolis hostage situation

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has released edited bodycam footage detailing a fatal officer-involved shooting that left one man dead following a hostage situation near a McDonald’s on Indy’s south side in November.

According to a graphic that appears at the beginning of the video, officers were called to 4941 Knights Way, which is the address for a McDonald’s in the area, around 7:20 p.m. on Nov. 30. Officers were initially called to conduct a welfare check.

According to previous reports, officers were called to the area after receiving reports of a possible disturbance occurring from the sleeping cabin of a semi-truck that was parked near the fast food restaurant.

Upon arrival, officers met with a witness who told them that they reportedly heard a woman screaming for help from inside the parked truck.

The images featured in the edited footage were gathered from multiple body-worn cameras that were activated during the shooting. 

An officer’s body-worn camera that was activated during the incident shows a man, identified as 60-year-old Lamont Bland, exiting the sleeping cabin of the semi-truck and sitting down in the driver’s seat before returning back to the cabin. The officer could be heard repeatedly telling him to open the door and identifying himself as police.

In segments of the bodycam footage released by police, Bland could be heard reportedly saying, “Stop it. I’ve got a knife to her throat.”

Officers then proceeded to instruct the man and woman to exit the parked semi-truck. When these instructions were not followed, officers managed to enter the truck by breaking the driver’s side window with a baton and opening the door. At that point, police continued to engage with Bland, who told police that he was holding a knife against the woman’s neck.

Officers on the scene decided to move toward the back cabin as they continued to communicate with Bland. It was at that moment that police reportedly observed Bland on top of the woman. Bland responded, saying, “I’m going to kill her right now,” and, “I ain’t got nothing to lose.”

An officer discharged their weapon and shot Bland. Bland was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured during the incident, IMPD said. Medical aid was immediately provided to the woman, who could be seen suffering from multiple lacerations to her hands, neck, ear, chest and face.

IMPD later confirmed that police recovered a bloodied razor blade from inside the sleeping cabin as part of their investigation into the fatal shooting.

The IMPD Critical Incident Response team is handling the criminal investigation of the incident, while the IMPD Internal Affairs is conducting a separate administrative investigation. The officers who fired their firearms have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard procedure in an officer-involved shooting investigation.    

The civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will conduct a mandatory hearing for any attempted use of deadly force against a person. This occurs after the conclusion of the criminal process.