INDIANAPOLIS — A police officer in Indianapolis was shot while responding to a call on the southeast side of downtown overnight.
It was around 10:00 p.m. when Indianapolis Metro Police got a call about an accident that had happened in an alley in Fountain Square along Woodlawn Ave. Lt. Shane Foley said that as officers were heading to the scene they say they got additional information that a man might be in the area who was intoxicated and exposing himself.
When officers got to the alley they confronted a man matching the description of the suspect.
“Within seconds, the man began running from officers,” Foley said. “The officers said to the suspect: ‘Stop! Police!’, and there was an exchange of gunfire between at least one officer and the suspect.”
Foley could not say for certain who fired first during the altercation. One of the officers chasing the suspect was hit by gunfire, as was the suspect. The man they were chasing was taken to the hospital in critical condition. SWAT officers who gave the suspect first aid found a handgun next to him.
The officer who was hit was taken by an IFD fire truck to Eskenazi. The officer is in serious but stable condition, says Foley.
Foley added that this situation highlights that police officers must be prepared for any call to change in a matter of moments.
“Our officers are trained to handle rapidly evolving situations very quickly,” Foley said. “I think as we saw with Aaron Allan, whose killer was convicted last week, something as simple as a traffic accident can result in shots fired and an officer being killed.”
Foley said a criminal investigation is underway during which police will look over body camera footage and gather other evidence they need in the case. Once the criminal investigation is over with the civilian majority Use Of Force Review Board will look over the case as well to be sure police officers acted appropriately.
