Indiana trooper shoots armed man wanted for kidnapping in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A trooper on Thursday afternoon shot and injured an armed Indianapolis man who was wanted on a kidnapping charge, Indiana State Police said in a news release issued Thursday night.
Mitez Harper, 23, was stable upon being taken to a hospital. The release did not indicate any new charges Harper will face as a result of Thursday’s events. Online records for the Marion County jail did not show Harper in custody.
The shot from Trooper Isaiah Henderson, who has been with the state police for more than two years, was the only one fired in the encounter. No state troopers were hurt.
After the shooting, Henderson was placed on administrative duty, a standard practice for the state police.
Around 11:30 a.m., a pair of troopers pulled over a black Dodge Charger for erratic driving — including unsafe speed and following too closely — at 34th Street and Tiffany Drive on the far east side of Indianapolis. That’s a residential area close to I-465, just south of Lawrence near 38th Street and Post Road.
During the traffic stop, Harper got out of the car and ran away with a handgun. The car then drove off, and two state troopers pursued Harper on foot.
Later, Henderson saw Harper emerge from behind a house.
The release said, “Harper was armed with a black handgun with an extended magazine. Trooper Henderson fired one shot, striking Harper in the arm. Harper then laid on the ground until being taken into custody by the troopers. The two troopers immediately rendered medical aid, including Trooper Henderson placing a tourniquet on Harper’s arm.”
Investigators gathered a handgun with an extended magazine from the shooting scene.
An arrest warrant for Harper was issued May 8 from Marion Superior Court 26 in Indianapolis. Online court records show the warrant lists charges of kidnapping, confinement, domestic battery, battery resulting in bodily injury, residential entry-break and enter dwelling, and theft.
Online court records also show Harper pleaded guilty in November 2018 in Marion Superior Court, Criminal Division 10, to carrying a handgun without a license. He was sentenced to home detention and Community Corrections for 120 days.
In a separate case in Marion Superior Court 35, Harper pleaded guilty in August 2021 to resisting law enforcement and was given no jail time and required to perform community service. After failing to show up for at least two court hearings to assess his participation in community service, Harper was sentenced in November 2022 to four days in the county jail.
Investigators will also review the bodycams of both officers and a dashcam from a police vehicle.
State police have yet to locate the black Dodge Charger. It’s driver has not been identified.
The state police shooting was the second this week in Indianapolis.
On Monday, a trooper exchanged gunfire with a suspect at a gas station on Brookville Road. The trooper involved in that incident was not hurt and placed on administrative leave. The suspect was taken to an Indianapolis-area hospital.
The two shootings are not related, according to state police.
