Andre Green
Birth date:
January 1, 2000
Death date:
August 9, 2015
Age at Death:
15
About
Very little is publicly available about Mr. Green. He was described as a troubled Indianapolis teen, a run away, who spent time in juvenile court and had at least one serious brush with the law. Two weeks before his death, he sat on the steps of an Indianapolis church and told a mentor he had been “staying out of the way” of trouble. He told the mentor he had dreams of finishing high school and going to college, maybe Indiana University.
Police say Mr. Green and two others were suspected in an armed carjacking on the Eastside at about 10 p.m. After the carjacking, they say four shots were fired from the car at a bystander. Soon, police were on the car’s trail and eventually, with Mr. Green behind the wheel, the stolen car turned down a dead-end street. As police closed in, police say two of the passengers fled on foot, leaving Mr. Green alone in the car. Then, police say Mr. Green steered the car toward three officers, who closed in on him. Indianapolis police are able to defend themselves when a vehicle is perceived to be a deadly threat.
They opened fire - it is unclear if Mr. Green pointed a weapon as he stumbled out of the car - a handgun was found nearby. Within 10 minutes, medics arrived and pronounced Mr. Green dead. The Marion County coroner’s office said he died of multiple gunshot wounds. A witness said it did not look like Mr. Green was threatening. No car dashcam, body cam or video evidence existed. The officers involved were two whites, one Black.
Was justice served?
Unsure, because police believed Mr. Green to be part of an armed carjacking (turns out it was a stolen vehicle) and police report Mr. Green was not cooperating when asked to get out of the car. This is an area of dispute because some eye witnesses say Mr. Green was exiting the car with his hands up in the air. A judge has ruled in favor of Indianapolis police in a lawsuit that accused officers of excessive force in a black teenager's fatal shooting. The question still remains of why didn't the police officers shoot out the tires of the vehicle to stop it versus shooting at the driver? Twenty shots were fired at Mr. Green as he was driving the stolen car towards police officers. Would he have been treated the same way if he had blond hair and blue eyes?