Man Killed, Chesterton Police Officer Injured Outside Hotel

CHESTERTON, Ind.–A Chesterton Police Department Officer was injured and a man was killed outside of a hotel in Chesterton Wednesday morning.

Police say they were told about a suspicious man just after 8 am at the Hilton Garden Inn hotel on Gateway Boulevard. At a Wednesday press conference, State Police Sergeant Glen Fifield said when they arrived, they had an interaction with the man, but then gunfire followed.

A Chesterton Police Officer with about five years of experience on the force was shot and had to be taken to an Illinois hospital to be treated for his injuries. Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson said the officer’s “prognosis was good.”

The man who police were dealing with was hit by the gunfire and later died. An autopsy will be handled by the Porter County Sheriff’s Office.

At least one weapon was recovered at the scene. Two officers who fired their guns are on administrative leave, which is standard protocol in situations like this.

“It’s not every day you come to work and you get involved in an officer-involved shooting. The bravery of these officers for protecting our community, for protecting what might have been going on in that hotel, I’m so proud of the men and women of the Chesterton Police Department right now,” said Richardson in that same press conference.

Richardson also thanked regional law enforcement for coming to the aid of his police department.