Man Shot, Killed By Lawrence And IMPD Officers After Short Chase On East Side
Source: WISH-TV / WISH-TV
INDIANAPOLIS – A Lawrence police officer shot and killed a man when a police chase came to an end on the east side of Indianapolis Monday afternoon.
Both Lawrence and Indy Metro Police officers responded to a call for assistance after a car driven by a man and also had a woman in the passenger seat, would not stop when told to by officers.
Both agencies say the officers were simply looking to pull the car over for a minor license plate violation. Instead, they say the driver chose to try and flee and in doing so fired gunshots at the officers.
“The suspect vehicle eventually came to a stop in the 6500 hundred block of East 30th Street,” said IMPD assistant chief Michael Wolley. “At which time an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
Wolley said two Lawrence officers and one IMPD officer fired their weapons. He was unable to say exactly what led the officers to shoot the man, but they said they approached the car in which he was found unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The whole thing was caught on multiple angles of police dashcam and body camera footage.
“It’s unfortunate that our officers are engaged in this once again,” said Lawrence police chief Curtis Bigsbee. “In which the suspects in different situations could have complied with the officers’ direction.”
The woman in the car was not hurt, according to investigators. They say she is cooperating with detectives in putting together the events leading up to the shooting.
Indianapolis FOP president Rick Snyder offered up the following statement on the shooting:
“Today, another tragedy was averted as an Armed Suspect allegedly fired upon Police Officers in the Indy Metro region. Fortunately, no officers were struck, but officers were forced to defend their lives and stop a lethal threat posed to others in the area. Every day police officers face unknown threats, often involving armed offenders. Tragically, Officers across Indianapolis have faced increasing incidents of deadly threats, attacks, and encounters.
Unfortunately, these incidents are a reflection of the record levels of violence occurring within Indianapolis for the past five years. Additionally, as of the end of November at least 322 officers have been shot in America so far this year. Worse yet, at least 46 officers have been killed by gunfire and 75 officers have been shot in 57 separate ambush-style attacks. On average an Officer is shot in the line of duty every 25 hours across America.
Fortunately, another officer was not added to this list today in Lawrence or Indianapolis. Instead, our communities were protected, an alleged armed violent offender was stopped, and all Lawrence and IMPD Officers involved are going home safely to their families.
