Officer Involved Shooting Incident
On March 10, 2021, The Columbus Police Department (IN), received information from a neighboring county about a suicidal male, high on meth, heading toward Columbus. Officers located the vehicle and a 45 minute pursuit commenced, involving the Columbus Police Department, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, the Indiana State Police and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
During the pursuit, the suspect called in to dispatch, prompting them to try to negotiate with him to surrender, until calls could be sent over to a trained negotiator. Approximately 45 minutes into the pursuit, the suspect stopped his vehicle and fired 15 rounds from an AR 15 style weapon into a pursuing Columbus PD and Indiana State Police patrol vehicle. Officers were able to return fire, however the suspect then continued the pursuit for a short time before coming to rest in a field.
The pursuit was followed by a 5 hour standoff and negotiation with the suspect. The debrief will discuss lessons learned both during and after the incident, negotiating during a pursuit and equipping your dispatchers with some basic negotiation knowledge.