INDIANAPOLIS -- The Marion County Prosecutor announced on Thursday that his office would be seeking the death penalty against accused cop killer Jason Brown.
Brown, 28, is accused of shooting Southport Police Department Lt. Aaron Allan multiple times after flipping his car near the intersection of Madison Avenue and Maynard Drive on July 27.
Lt. Allan was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said the decision to seek the death penalty against Brown was made after going over hours of evidence and interviewing everyone involved with the case.
“This is not a decision we make lightly and this is not a decision I make on my own,” said Curry.
The aggravated circumstances cited for the death penalty request are that Brown murdered Lt. Allan while the officer was employed by the Southport Police Department and was acting in the course of his duty as a law enforcement officer.
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Curry said over the seven years that his he has served in the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, four officers have been lost to intentional killings: David Moore, Rod Bradway, Perry Renn and now, Aaron Allan.
In addition, Curry said they have had numerous officers shot, officers' houses shot up and shootings at two police districts.
"As we've said on those occasions, and we'll emphasize again: We will not tolerate attacks on our police officers," said Curry.
Json Brown made his first and only court appearance on August 9 after being released from the hospital where he was treated for injuries he sustained from the crash and gunshot wounds from the shooting.
When asked if he was sorry for what happened during that appearance, Brown said nothing and continued walking into the courthouse.
"I think they aught to electrocute him. Death. Life taken because of what he done to Allan," said Grady Shipley, a retired police officer.
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“The inevitable question here is why did this happen? And we simply do not know – and we might not ever know," said Curry. "But choices were made by this defendant which resulted in the death of Lt. Allan and he must thus be held accountable for those actions.”
Southport Police Department Chief Thomas Vaughn said his department supports the prosecutor's decision.
"We have the full confidence in the prosecutor's office," said Chief Vaughn. "We support their decision."
The court has set Brown's initial hearing for the request for October 2 at 10 a.m.
A jury trial is scheduled to begin February 26, 2018.
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