Bodycam shows man ambush IMPD officers while dual wielding machete, gun

INDIANAPOLIS — Metro police officers were searching for an armed man in a west side neighborhood when they were ambushed by a barrage of gunfire.

This is what edited body camera footage released by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department reveals. The footage details the deadly encounter between the suspect — accused of wandering the neighborhood and shooting indiscriminately at people and homes — and the two police officers attempting to track him down.

Previous reports detail how officers of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were called to the 300 block of S. Warman Avenue on Dec. 19 after multiple neighbors called 911 to report gunfire.

Callers told dispatchers that an armed man had been seen wandering around the area. He allegedly shot at several homes and pointed guns at people. A woman was also found shot in a backyard. She was rushed to a hospital but didn’t suffer serious injury.

The armed man was later identified as 40-year-old Antonio Menocal Antunez.

Dashcam footage released by IMPD shows two officers driving around the neighborhood in search of Antunez. The officers are driving marked IMPD police vehicles and are turning into an alley when multiple gunshots can suddenly be heard.

A slowed-down version of the dashcam footage shows a man, alleged to be Antunez, lean out from behind a parked car and open fire on the police officers’ cruisers.

The officers immediately radioed dispatch about the shooting and jumped out of their vehicles to pursue Antunez.

The officers repeatedly shouted for Antunez to drop his gun while circling parked cars and a home. An officer then spots Antunez next to the house. The armed man can be heard screaming incoherently before bodycam footage shows him charging at officers.

“He has a machete!” one officer warns his partner.

Antunez keeps charging straight at the officers, appearing to wield both a machete and a firearm. The officers open fire and Antunez is struck multiple times. He collapses to the ground and drops both his weapons.

Antunez can still be seen moving and reaching out his arms while on the ground. Officers tell him to “quit reaching” with one officer firing his gun once at the prone man.

Antunez ended up being transported to the hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.

No officers were injured in this incident.

To watch the edited bodycam footage released by IMPD, click here.