Kemonte Cobbs

Kemonte Cobbs, 15, was shot and killed by Gary, Indiana Police Officer Justin Hedrick during a foot pursuit on August 1, 2017, after Cobbs and several other teenagers were reportedly involved in an attempted armed robbery in neighboring Munster. Officers gave shifting and inconsistent accounts of the shooting, variously describing Cobbs as running when shot, lying in wait to ambush pursuing officers, or charging at them with a gun drawn. His mother, Tasheena Brooks, said investigators initially told her no weapon had been recovered at the scene, then called a week later to say one had been found near his body. Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter ruled the shooting justified and declined to file charges. Community members held sustained protests demanding the release of video and audio recordings, which authorities resisted for months. No one has ever been charged in Cobbs's death.

Gary, IN · Lake County

• 2017: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The Munster robbery report, the foot pursuit into Gary, and the shooting, per the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, and Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter's public statements.
• Cobbs was struck by gunfire and taken first to Methodist Hospital Northlake in Gary, then transferred to Christ Medical Center in Illinois, where he was pronounced dead.
• Investigating officers gave differing accounts of the moments before the shooting to different agencies, variously stating Cobbs was shot while running, was lying in wait to ambush officers, or turned and charged at them with a weapon drawn, according to community organizers who reviewed the conflicting reports.
• Cobbs's mother said she was initially told no gun was recovered at the scene of the shooting, and was contacted roughly a week later and told a weapon had in fact been found near her son's body.
• Black Lives Matter Northwest Indiana/Gary organized sustained protests for months following the shooting, demanding the release of all video and audio recordings and a public account from Officer Hedrick of what had occurred.
• Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter reviewed the case and ruled the shooting legally justified, declining to file any criminal charges against Hedrick.
• A Gary police officer was separately suspended over a public remark made in connection with the case, though the specific internal disciplinary record was not made fully public.

• Which of the differing officer accounts of the shooting — Cobbs running, lying in ambush, or charging with a weapon — reflected what actually happened was never resolved by any independent proceeding, since no criminal charges were ever filed and the case never reached a trial.
• Why Cobbs's family was initially told no weapon was recovered at the scene, only to be informed a week later that one had been found near his body, has not been explained in any official public accounting.
• The full video and audio recordings of the incident, which community organizers spent months demanding, were not made comprehensively public in the sources reviewed for this summary.

• The Times of Northwest Indiana (nwitimes.com) — “Gallery: Black Lives Matter protests Gary police killing of Kemonte Cobbs, 15”
• The Times of Northwest Indiana (nwitimes.com) — “Officer suspended for remark after Indiana police killed man”
• Chicago Tribune / Post-Tribune — coverage of the Gary, Indiana officer-involved shooting of Kemonte Cobbs
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs