INDIANAPOLIS — A man is in custody after an eviction turned into a 14-hour standoff with police and he shot at police drones in Indianapolis, according to police.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office tried to serve the active eviction order around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 3700 block of Valley Lake Drive. This is north of County Line Road and South Sherman Drive.
Around 5 p.m., the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to assist the sheriff's office due to the 39-year-old man having active eviction and protective orders protecting the resident from the man, IMPD Lt. Shane Foley said in an email. The protective order prohibited the man from legally possessing a firearm.
During the incident, officers learned the man made threats to kill officers, was wearing a ballistic vest and was armed with at least one firearm, Foley said. He also qualified as a serious violent offender.
SWAT teams from IMPD, Indiana State Police, and the Carmel Police Department and negotiators responded after he refused orders to leave the house, Foley said. During the incident, the man fired several rounds at police drones.
No officers fired shots, Foley said. According to a preliminary investigation, detectives don't believe the man fired any shots at officers, but Foley said the incident is still under investigation.
The SWAT teams did use "non-lethal tools" in attempts to deescalate the situation, Foley said. Residents and those in the area may have heard "loud booms" from those non-lethal tools.
Just after 8 a.m. Thursday, the man was found and arrested inside the house wearing a ballistic vest and T-shirt, Foley said. Personnel from Indianapolis EMS took the man to a local hospital to be checked out for possible exposure due to the cold temperatures.
The man was arrested on preliminary charges of possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, criminal recklessness and wearing a ballistic vest during the commission of a felony, Foley said. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office hasn't filed formal charges yet.
The Indianapolis Fire Department Rehab Support Unit also responded to the scene to help personnel.
