An Indiana police officer was fatally shot while responding to a car wreck by a gunman who fired despite being upside down.
An Indiana police officer was fatally shot while responding to a car wreck by a gunman who repeatedly fired his weapon despite being upside down in his vehicle.
Lt. Aaron Allan of the Southport Police Department was responding to a call Thursday regarding people trapped inside a car that had flipped over in Indianapolis. As he approached the vehicle, Allan was shot multiple times and later died at a nearby hospital.
Two other officers at the scene — including one who was off-duty — returned fire, wounding the shooter, identified by the Indianapolis Star as Jason Brown.
Brown has been arrested on a preliminary charge of murder, according to the newspaper. Brown and a second person injured in the crash were hospitalized and in custody with non-life-threatening injuries.
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“You show up to a vehicle accident and I don’t want to say we let our guard down, but that’s not what we are looking for, ” Southport Police Chief Thomas Vaughn said, according to WISH .
“We are looking to help that person in the car. It is hard to imagine why this incident happened when he was there to help that person who was in that accident.”
Allan, 38, had nearly 20 years of law enforcement experience, according to Vaughn. He was a six-year veteran of the department.
“Lieutenant Allan was a hard worker, and today was no different. He responded to a crash with urgency to preserve life. Tragically, his was lost, ” Vaughn said at Thursday’s press conference.
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Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett called Allan’s death “a shocking and tragic reminder of the difficult, often dangerous work of police officers.”
Allan had previously told a local newspaper that he wanted to be an officer ever since he was a child, according to the Star. Vaughn said Allan’s nickname was “Teddy Bear.”
“That’s because he tried to act real macho, but when a citizen or someone needed help, he was one of the first guys that was there, ” Vaughn said, according to the Star. “He didn’ t always like that nickname, but it fit him.”
Local resident Bryan McGary told WXIN that the shooting was unusual for the area.
“It’s just hard to believe that this would happen here, ” McGary told the station. “I mean I’ve lived here since 1976 and we really haven’t had much … We do have a lot of policemen in our area that live here so it’s just one of those things.”
Southport is an enclave within the city limits of Indianapolis.
With News Wire Services
