IMPD vs. “Vegeta”

Police said 40-year-old Kendall Gilbert was armed with a machete and suffered from a mental health crisis before being shot by police.

With neighbors recording on their cell phones, starting around 6:45 p.m. Sunday night, IMPD officers confronted a man who witnesses claim threatened police and his own family for hours.

“He kept inviting them to come to him,” said neighbor Rachelle Clark.

As the confrontation dragged on into the night, Clark said the suspect kept waving a machete and shouting insults at police. The suspect also allegedly had a second knife as well as a large staff-like weapon in his left hand.

“He kept saying to make war with me, ‘Come make war with me,’” said Clark.

Eventually, just after 9 p.m., police fired off a distraction device and multiple non-lethal rounds as the suspect sprinted into the street.

A few seconds later, the fatal shots can be heard off camera.

“He went ahead and ran across the street approaching the officers and that’s when they let him have it,” said neighbor Adrian Duncan.

Still, multiple neighbors believe there were enough officers on scene to prevent the incident from turning deadly.

“Somebody could have grabbed him and saved him. They could have stunned him or something. They didn’t have to kill that guy,” said Duncan.

“They had enough manpower to have done this without lethal force,” said Clark.

“You would think if you have a significant number of officers, they should be able to control one man,” said Rev. David Greene with the Concerned Clergy.

Greene also wishes more resources would be spent city wide to assist people have mental health issues.

“We have to find better methods of dealing with those with mental illness. We’ve got to do better as a city. We can do better and we must do better,” said Greene.

For their part, IMPD shared a picture of the machete the suspect dropped after being shot and insisted Gilbert did pose a threat to officers.

“This is not the outcome that anybody wanted. Nobody wins from this,” said IMPD Lt. Shane Foley. “This was a threat to the community. The individual was outside the home with a machete and also armed with another knife.”

Police said they had responded to the same home four times in three days for the same suspect having mental health issues.

On Friday, around 2:45 p.m., IMPD responded to check the welfare of the suspect who was said to be schizophrenic and sending out strange messages to family members.

No reports were made as there were no threats to the community or the family at the time.

On Saturday, Aug. 26 at 1:30 a.m., IMPD responded to the same home on Woodland Drive for reports of a man who was destroying property in his bedroom. The caller said the man refused to open the door for family. Officers believe the male was not a danger to others and no report was made at the time.

Later that day, around 8:30 p.m., IMPD came back to the same home on reports of a man experiencing mental episode and threatening to decapitate family members. The male was still barricaded in his room and officers assisted family members with providing information on mental health resources. Since the man was barricaded in the room and not a threat to others, IMPD left the scene without making a report.

On Sunday, Aug. 27, around 5:20 p.m., family members called IMPD saying the same man was hallucinating and stating he would burn the house down. Officers spoke with the family and indicated they left the residence and there was no ongoing threat to them.

Around 6:45 p.m. Sunday night, IMPD was called to check the welfare of a woman who had pushed the emergency button, who said the man was attempting to kill her. That call resulted in the police standoff.

The officer who shot Gilbert has been placed on routine leave. In addition to an internal and criminal investigation, the Civilian Use of Force board will also review the case.

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