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Indiana officer who made 'closed casket' remark after police killing is suspended, reassigned

"I think it's going to be a closed casket, homie," the officer was heard saying in a video of the fatal shooting of Dreasjon Reed by Indianapolis police on May 6.

An Indianapolis police detective who was caught on video making a remark about a man fatally shot by another officer needing a "closed casket" has been suspended, authorities said.

The detective, whose name has not been released, was recorded saying: "I think it's going to be a closed casket, homie," referring to Dreasjon Reed, who was fatally shot following a high-speed chase in the city on May 6 in an encounter that Reed streamed on Facebook Live.

Image: Sean Reed
Sean Reed.via Facebook

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police chief Randal Taylor has described the comment as "unacceptable."

The detective received a suspension of numerous days and has been reassigned to another unit, Officer Genae Cook, a spokeswoman for the department told NBC News on Friday.

Cook said that the identities of the officer involved in the shooting and the detective who made the inappropriate comment would not be released due to safety concerns. Both officers are African American, as was Reed.

The officer's remark was recorded on a Facebook Live stream that Reed began during the police chase. The video has been removed from Facebook but was uploaded to other social media and online platforms.

A police spokesman previously told NBC News a weapon that does not belong to the officer was recovered at the scene of the shooting.

Detectives are investigating at least 26 threats made against officers following the fatal shootings of Reed and another man, McHale Rose, 19, who was killed by officers at an apartment complex hours later, Cook said. Police have said both Reed and Rose exchanged gunfire with officers.