It was a chilly Indianapolis afternoon on November 14, 2024 when what first was a typical welfare check at a CVS drug store drive-thru suddenly became a violent assault that wounded both a police officer and a suspect. Nearly nine months after the assault first became public knowledge, the redacted body-worn camera video made public on August 29, 2025 has once again placed the incident front and center and raised new questions about police transparency, accountability, and trust.
At about 4:15 p.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) police were called to the CVS at 16th and Meridian Streets after a report of a man being unresponsive in a black GMC sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the end of the drive-thru. The man was identified later as 36-year-old Terrance Shane, a local man with a history of drug offenses.
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Officers approached the SUV, using sirens, horns, and repeated knocking to wake Shane.
“So I was on my siren and my horn, we were knocking on the window and you weren’t moving,”
One officer can be heard telling him in the released video. Shane eventually stirred, unlocked the door, and briefly stepped out. But when asked to walk to the rear of the vehicle, he refused.
“Why do I have to get out though?”
Shane asked, his voice measured but wary.
“There’s no reason to be scared. Just come back here,”
An officer replied.
“I’m comfortable right here,”
Shane insisted, returning to the driver’s seat.
Seconds later, the tension snapped. With the door still open and an officer leaning in, Shane shifted the SUV into reverse. The vehicle lurched backward, pinning an officer against a wall.
From the passenger side, Officer Tristen Grantham, a two-year IMPD veteran, fired once. The bullet went through Shane’s arm. Police officers came rushing to pull him out of the SUV and handcuffed him when the medics were approaching. Shane was taken to a local hospital in stable condition. The injured officer, pinned by the SUV though he was, avoided broken bones or life-threatening harm.
It was the 12th Indianapolis officer-involved shooting of the year 2024 and was one of a troubling spate that has now come under scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Justice.
For nine months, the public had little more than press releases and court filings to go on. That changed August 29, 2025, when IMPD released an edited “critical incident” video. The footage showed two perspectives: a close-up from Grantham’s bodycam and a wide shot capturing the officer’s struggle as he was pinned.
IMPD defended the delay by saying the video was withheld after the end of court proceedings. In a statement, the department reaffirmed its attempt at “balancing openness with the integrity of the judicial proceeding.” However, others argue that selectively released edited videos rather than full raw footage leave police with control of the narrative. Community organizers feel selective releases erode trust rather than foster it.
Sentencing had been murky. Seven years in prison with two years of probation was what some publications said, and 10 years total was what others said, with three suspended. Marion County Superior Court records specify that Shane was given 10 years: seven years to serve, three suspended, with two years probation.
IMPD was dismayed by the outcome and stated:
“We believe that the individuals who attack our officers should be fully accountable and receive maximum available punishment under the law.”
This case underscores the inherent risks of welfare checks, which national data show can escalate to violence in a small but significant number of cases. In 2024 alone, 1,038 people were shot and killed by police across the U.S. Indianapolis has mirrored this troubling trend, with officer-involved shootings hitting historic highs in consecutive years.
