INDIANAPOLIS — A man wanted on outstanding warrants was critically wounded Tuesday after he allegedly fired shots at metro police officers who returned fire.
According to a report from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, it happened around 3 p.m. Tuesday in the 3300 block of Forest Manor Avenue.
"Our Crime Gun Intelligence Center detectives along with SWAT officers were tracking an individual that had two open warrants for community correction violations for robbery and they had been tracking that individual for a period of time," IMPD Assistant Chief Chris Bailey said. "Today, they saw him and engaged the SWAT team to help because there was a possibility the individual was armed.
"They made a traffic stop. The car briefly stopped and then sped off, probably about a half a block and then that's when officers I believe they attempted a PIT maneuver. The car stopped. The passenger of the vehicle got out of the car, fired shots at our officers and officers returned fire."
Bailey said the suspect, a 21-year-old Black man, was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition. No officers were injured.
Late Tuesday, police said in addition to the warrants, the suspect is also wanted for questioning by detectives in an ongoing homicide investigation.
According to police, multiple officers, both Black and white, were involved in the shooting.
Bailey said the Crime Gun Intelligence Center officers were wearing body cameras during the incident. Members of the SWAT team, however, were not because they wear a different type of uniform and it requires a different piece of equipment to attach cameras to their uniforms, he said. The SWAT team will be equipped with body cameras when the necessary equipment arrives from the vendor, Bailey said.
There are three body camera recordings of the incident, Bailey said.
Police are not looking for any other individuals in connection with the incident, according to Bailey.
The driver of the suspect vehicle was also transported to the hospital for observation as a precaution, Bailey said. That individual was not struck by any gunfire, he said.
IMPD's Critical Incident Response Team will be the lead criminal investigators of the incident, Bailey said. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office is also involved in the investigation. A separate administrative review is also being conducted by the Internal Affairs section. The executive staff will review that investigation followed by scrutiny from the Firearms Review Board.
Bailey said the prosecutor's office will make the final determination of charges both for the individual who was wounded along with the investigation by the Critical Incident Response Team.
Police said a weapon that belongs to the suspect was recovered at the scene, however, police did not identify the type of weapon recovered.
The officers involved in the incident will be placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice when an officer fires a service weapon, Bailey said.
A SWAT medic who was on scene because of the SWAT team's involvement in tracking the individual rendered aid to the individual immediately after the scene was secured, Bailey said.
