Lawrence officer out of hospital after shooting; neighbor decries violence
LAWRENCE, Ind. (WISH) — A Lawrence police officer was shot in the leg and a man was killed by police Tuesday night during a warrant service in a northeast side neighborhood.
On Wednesday morning, Lawrence Police Chief Gary Woodruff said that the officer had been treated and released from the hospital. The officer, who has not been named, was expected to recover. His injuries were not life-threatening.
According to Commander Tracey Cantrell with Lawrence Police Department, Lawrence and Indianapolis police were serving warrants in the first block of Burrwood Circle at around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. That’s southeast of the intersection of 46th Street and Post Road. A special weapons and tactics team was deployed because the two people being served were known to carry guns. They were wanted for previous reports of firing guns at homes.
Police surrounded the house. One of the people being sought came from the back of the house and fired a long rifle, hitting the Lawrence police officer in the leg, Cantrell said.
Other officers responded with gunfire, killing the man, police said.
Woodruff said gunfire from police also hit a woman at the scene. Her injuries are not life-threatening.
Police have not released the names of the people who were shot.
Another Lawrence police officer used a tourniquet on the injured officer before he was taken to Eskenazi Hospital by two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers.
“As officers confront crime, sometimes bad things can happen, and it is always a tragedy when it does. But, we don’t blame the neighbors for being upset about that and we are upset as well,” Woodruff said. “It was a very fluid, rapidly evolving, very dynamic situation. We’re glad it wasn’t worse but certainly it was bad enough.”
The officer who was shot has been with the Lawrence Police Department for more than three years. Woodruff said, at last check, the officer was in good spirits.
Lawrence Fire Department tweeted, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured officer as well as their family and their Lawrence police family.”
Neighbor reacts
Willie Porter has lived in the neighborhood since 1988. Porter says, outside of the occasional busted window or knocked-over mailbox, he thinks it’s been a decent neighborhood. He says he can’t remember something like this ever happening in his 30-plus years in the neighborhood.
Porter says he was standing outside talking to his wife on the phone when he says he heard several pops. He says he didn’t think much of it at first because it’s not uncommon to hear gunshots in the distance.
He says when he found out what happened it was a shock to him.
Porter says he raised three kids in this neighborhood and has always believed it to be a generally safe area.
He says the violence across the city has to stop.
“Ain’t nothing never happen in this neighborhood. I’ve been in this neighborhood for like 33 years, I ain’t never seen something like this happen. It’s just sick now. It’s a problem here in this city. It needs to be stopped, got to be stopped because I never thought something like this would happen in this neighborhood as long as I lived here. I raised three kids in this neighborhood,” Porter said.
