Indiana police investigating Grant County officer-involved shooting death of William White

MARION, Ind. — A mother is mourning after getting a call Sunday saying her son had been shot by police.

”Scooter’s dead. The police shot Scooter, the police shot Scooter. Get here,” said Billie Jo White, as she recounted one phone call she got early Sunday morning.

“Scooter” is what the family calls William White, the man shot and killed by Marion Police Sunday morning.

The shooting happened during a traffic stop just before 4 a.m. Sunday. An officer shot White after Marion Police claim he reached for a gun on the ground.

The traffic stop started because MPD was looking for a gold SUV connected to a shots fired call near 15th Street and Florence Street earlier that night.

Police said an officer pulled over White’s car near the 3000 block of Curfman because his vehicle matched the description. The traffic stop was recorded on the Marion police officer’s body camera which was released later Sunday.

In the body camera video, you see White getting out of his car as the police officer is exiting his. The officer asks White to “hang tight at the vehicle,” but White does not and begins to run away.

The officer starts to chase after White, warning him he is going to use a stun gun.

“He’s running,” you can hear the officer say on the body camera video. “Stop! PoliceI You’re going to get tazed.”

You then see the officer use the stun gun on White. Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum said the stun gun worked at first and was then ineffective.

In the video, the officer is heard telling White to put his hands behind his back as White says he wasn’t doing anything.

A few seconds after White is stunned, the video shows a gun on the ground. Slocum said this was White’s gun.

Marion Police said White tried to pick up the weapon, and that this is when the officer shoots him at least once. The officer’s body cam falls to the ground in the final seconds of the video.

Slocum said White died at the scene.

Billie Jo, White’s mother, said she is frustrated and upset. She also said the body cam video was released to everyone before she was able to see it.

“The world seen it before I seen anything,” Billie Jo said.

The grieving mother said White had six kids and now his children are all watching their father’s final moments.

Billie Jo said she is also wondering why the officer’s body camera fell to the ground.

“I want to know how did this body cam get off this police officer and fall to the ground when this incident going on,” she said. “That’s what I’m frustrated about.”

Billie Jo said her son wasn’t involved in the shots fired incident earlier that night which originally led police to White’s car in the first place, either.

Slocum said ISP is still looking into whether or not White is connected to those shots being fired.

ISP is handling the investigation into the incident. The officer involved has not been named but is on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.