IMPD officer and suspect shot, both in serious condition
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis police officer was in serious condition but stable after being shot Sunday night on the city’s east side.
A man shot during an exchange of gunfire with at least one officer also was hospitalized and was in critical condition, but later was upgraded to serious condition, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said early Monday morning.
Neither the officer or the man shot have been identified, but IMPD said the officer is in the first year of field training with the department.
IMPD initially was sent to a “accident/no info” report at 10:05 p.m. Sunday to the 1600 block of Lexington Avenue. About seven minutes later, medics were sent to a call of “gun shot” at the same address in the Fountain Square neighborhood that’s southeast of downtown Indianapolis.
Lt. Shane Foley with the IMPD public affairs office had a news conference about 1:20 a.m. Monday near the crime scene.
He said that officers on the way to the accident report were informed “a Black man in a red jacket was exposing himself, and a male in a red vehicle was acting strangely, and the male in the red vehicle was intoxicated and was last seen southbound on State Street.”
Witnesses helped officers find the man in a red jacket in a red Buick in the 1600 block of Woodlawn Avenue. Two uniformed officers in a patrol car approached the man, who began to flee. The officers told the man “Stop. Police” before an exchange of gunfire happened between at least one officer and the man in an alley north of the 1600 block of Woodlawn Avenue. The man fled from the alley.
A medic run for “gun shot” was dispatched at 10:14 p.m. Sunday for 1600 Woodlawn Avenue.
An IMPD special weapons and tactics team shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday found the man with at least one gunshot wound and a handgun in the 900 block of Dawson Street. Medics with the SWAT team treated the man before an Indianapolis EMS ambulance took him to IU Health Methodist Hospital.
An Indianapolis Fire Department engine took the officer hit by gunfire to Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital. News 8 viewed more than a dozen police cars were outside an entrance to Eskenazi hospital on Sunday night about an hour after the shooting.
Foley said bodycams on the officers were activated. He said he’d seen the video, but declined to discuss what he saw.
The lieutenant said the standard investigations that follow a police shooting will be done, and the officer involved in the shooting was put on administrative duties during the investigations.
IMPD on Sunday night asked people with information to call 911 to relay any information to officers still at the crime scene on Monday morning. People can also call 317-327-3475. IMPD is particularly interested in doorbell cameras that may have captured the shooting.
According to a police report obtained by News 8, 169 IMPD officers responded to the scene.
Reactions
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett tweeted just before midnight Sunday, “In the face of danger, the officers of @impdnews put their lives on the line to keep our community safe. Tonight we bear witness to that selfless action. Our prayers are with the officer shot, his loved ones, and the entire IMPD family.”
Lawrence Police Department tweeted at 11:22 p.m. Sunday, “LPD Stands United with our @IMPDnews friends & colleagues, the injured officer, & their family.”
Rick Snyder, president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police No. 86, tweeted at 12:14 a.m. Monday, “We have again been reminded of the dangers our IMPD Officers face every day while they stand the line for our community. We ask all residents to join our Indianapolis FOP in praying for this Officer, his family and fellow officers. #Prayers #ThinBlueLine”
IMPD Assistant Chief Chris Bailey tweet at 12:39 a.m. Monday, “Thankful our @IMPDnews Officer is in stable condition tonight at Eskenazi Hospital after being shot. We are blessed to have brave men and women who willingly put themselves in harms way on our behalf. It’s a honor to wear the same badge. Thank you to @IFD_NEWS and @EskenaziHealth”
