On an April evening in 2016, a domestic dispute between 44-year-old Kevin Hicks and his wife, Heather, set in motion a chain of events that would end in his death. While in their car with their young son, Heather Hicks called 911, reporting that her husband was assaulting her. Shortly after 9 p.m., she spotted a police car and pulled into a Marathon gas station at the corner of 10th and Rural Streets on the east side of Indianapolis, seeking help.
The responding officer, a six-year
veteran of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department named Robert Carmichael, began to investigate the situation. As Kevin Hicks exited the passenger side of the vehicle, an argument erupted between him and the officer. Surveillance video from the gas station captured the initial moments of a physical struggle. According to police, Officer Carmichael attempted to use his Taser, but Hicks knocked it out of his hand. The fight intensified, with punches being thrown, and the two men struggled across the parking lot, eventually falling to the ground just out of the surveillance camera's view. It was there that the officer fired the fatal shot. Kevin Hicks was unarmed. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer sustained injuries including a bite wound to his hand, facial contusions, and a possible concussion.
In the aftermath of the shooting, accounts of the final moments diverged. Police stated that witnesses reported seeing Hicks reaching for the officer's handgun during the struggle on the ground. However, Heather Hicks, who witnessed the shooting, has consistently denied that her husband ever reached for the officer's weapon. It was later revealed that at the time of his death, there was an active arrest warrant for Kevin Hicks. He had been on a day pass from a community corrections facility to look for a job and had failed to return at the designated time. Court records also showed a significant history of domestic violence incidents involving the couple.
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office investigated the shooting and ultimately determined that there was no criminal wrongdoing on the part of Officer Carmichael, and the case was never presented to a grand jury. Following the investigation, the officer was cleared to return to duty. In April 2018, Heather Hicks filed a federal lawsuit against the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Officer Carmichael. The lawsuit alleged that the officer used excessive force and claimed that her husband was already on the ground when he was shot in the head.
