Hoping for Unity Amid Violence

There have been three Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officers attacked and injured on the job in the last week, according to the department. The city is working to get a handle on recent high-profile shootings.

Tuesday, an IMPD officer was shot three times while trying to arrest the driver of a stolen car. The shooting ended with two suspects under arrest, both now charged, another suspect in the hospital in critical condition, and a fourth suspect still on the run. The officer, a four-year veteran of IMPD, left the hospital on Wednesday, surrounded by a crowd of cheering police.

One other officer broke his leg while wrestling a suspect during an arrest on Tuesday. IMPD didn’t provide specific details about the third officer hurt.

Pastor Dwight Harwell of Latter House Ministries believes that recent violence in the Haughville neighborhood, where the shooting occurred, should not define the area. “We cannot let one incident define the neighborhood,” he said.

Haughville is an area where there’ve been multiple public efforts to build the relationship between police and the public. IMPD recruits helped paint over graffiti in the spring, and officers joined a show of unity when neighbors faced rampant vandalism.

Councilmember Vop Osili represents the west side district which covers Haughville. He says there’s been a concerted effort to reach out to at-risk youth and families since the Independence Day weekend mass shooting downtown – the first of two Indianapolis mass shootings in July. “This is not a we-they thing,” Osili said. “This really is an ‘us’ thing.”

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett expressed his gratitude for IMPD officers and his prayers for the injured officer, saying, “Every time they don their badge, IMPD officers are putting their safety on the line to protect the safety of our city.” He also extended his gratitude to first responders and medical professionals.

IMPD has not identified the officer shot. He’s on administrative leave, pending a review of the shootout. Later Tuesday evening, IMPD said an officer broke their fibula while arresting a man for assault, marking the third line-of-duty injury in a week.

Anyone with information on the other suspect or about the shooting was asked to contact Sgt. Brian Lambert at the IMPD Homicide Office at 317-327-3475.