Mitchell police officer remains in hospital after shootout in violent traffic stop
MITCHELL, Ind. (WISH) — A day after a city police officer and a sheriff’s deputy were shot during an exchange of gunfire during a traffic stop, which left the suspect dead, one remained hospitalized.
Of the two police officers who were shot, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Rhoades was released from the hospital Sunday and he walked into the sheriff office Monday.
Mitchell Police Department Officer Christian Anderson was shot once in the shoulder, and his chief says it could be a couple days before doctors release him from IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
The official picture of Anderson shows a young man smiling and ready to take on his position within the police department. Anderson is a native of the area and joined the department three years ago. Mitchell Police Chief Michael Hardman told I-Team 8 that he has talked Anderson several times since the shooting early Sunday morning. “Seems to be pretty good, kind of of groggy from the pain meds.”
Investigators have not released how many shots were fired at the two officers. Lawrence County deputy, Joshua Rhodes, was hit twice, and Mitchell police officer Anderson was hit once in the shoulder. Both officers fired at the suspect, Anthony Richmond, 29, of West Baden Springs, who died in the ambulance at the shooting scene.
During the stop about 3:15 a.m. Sunday in the 4800 block of State Road 37, a police dog indicated illegal narcotics were in the vehicle, said Sgt. John Perrine of the state police on Sunday. Richmond, the driver who was the only person in the vehicle, fled across the street and later pulled out a handgun, and fired, hitting both officers. One of the two officers returned fire, injuring the driver. Other officers on the scene provided care until medics arrived, but the driver later died in the ambulance.
Anderson was the first Mitchell police officer shot in the line of duty since 1965. He is also the first Mitchell police officer to survive a shooting while on duty.
Mitchell is a small city with a population of nearly 4,000. However, Hardman says, drugs and violence are creeping into the Lawrence County city.
“Drugs, most of the time it seems, like when you get a violent suspect, it is fueled by drugs, either dealing or on them or whatever,” the police chief said.
Investigators have not said which one of the officers fired the fatal shot. The Lawrence County sheriff’s deputies do have body-worn cameras, and I-Team 8 was told Indiana State Police investigators are reviewing the video.
Hardman says Richmond wasn’t on his department’s radar, and the police chief is as anxious as anyone to find out why Richmond opened fire on two police officers in the middle of the night.