Holly MatkinIndianapolis, IN – Recently-released bodycam and security footage captured the moment when two Indianapolis police officers were shot while trying to apprehend an armed suspect who was the target of a firearms investigation (video below).
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) released footage of the deadly officer-involved shooting during a critical incident briefing on Monday.
The series of events leading up to the shootout began shortly after 12:40 p.m. on April 20, as IMPD officers assigned to the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force and the Lawrence Police Department (LPD) were conducting surveillance at a residence located in the 9100-block of East 36th Street, the department said.
The surveillance was tied to a firearms investigation involving 46-year-old Daniel Ghebrehiwet.
As they were watching the house, investigators spotted Ghebrehiwet leaving the residence with a “soft rifle case” and getting behind the wheel of a black Toyota Sienna, the IMPD said.
A second individual climbed into the passenger seat and the suspect vehicle began heading south on North Post Road with detectives following behind.
When the vehicle reached the intersection with East 30th Street, uniformed detectives in fully-marked police units tried to pull Ghebrehiwet over.
The suspect refused to stop and turned west onto East 30th Street, according to the IMPD.
Detectives attempted to stop the fleeing vehicle using two pursuit intervention technique (PIT) maneuvers, but both attempts were unsuccessful.
Ghebrehiwet turned south into the parking lot of a business, where he ran into a dead-end, according to police.
He then allegedly began driving through a grassy area behind a row of houses before coming to a stop due to the impassible terrain.
Ghebrehiwet then pulled out the rifle and opened fire on two detectives in the lead vehicle behind him before they even had a chance to exit their vehicle, according to the IMPD.
Both detectives were hit by the suspect’s gunfire.
One was shot in the leg, and the other was shot in the torso.
Despite their wounds, both officers returned fire, as did two more detectives following in a vehicle behind them, the IMPD said.
“I think I’m hit,” one detective noted at one point. “I’m bleeding, I’m okay! F—k this, let’s go! I’m good.”
Investigators later discovered the lead patrol vehicle had been struck multiple times by rifle rounds fired by Ghebrehiwet, according to the IMPD.
The passenger fled on foot during the melee, but was later apprehended.
In the meantime, officers approached the suspect vehicle using a ballistic shield, as they could see the rifle was still within Ghebrehiwet’s reach, the IMPD said.
They quickly determined the suspect was deceased when they reached the vehicle.
Additional officers apprehended the uninjured passenger in the 2700-block of Post Road a short while later.
The passenger, 31-year-old Darnell Harmon, was arrested on an unrelated Marion County warrant for possession of methamphetamine, cocaine, and a narcotic drug, The Indianapolis Star reported.
The wounded detectives were transported to Eskenazi Hospital by their fellow officers and have both since been released to continue their recoveries at home, according to the police department.
“We are fed up,” a frustrated IMPD Assistant Chief Chris Bailey said during a press conference at the scene, according to WRTV. “The community should be fed up with it.”
“We have two officers who are lucky to be alive today, and they’re doing exactly what we want them to do. Despite all the odds. Despite everything that is stacked up against them. Despite all of the criticism they take every single day,” Assistant Chief Bailey said. “They put on their uniform and went out to get the people that are terrorizing our neighborhoods. We all owe them a debt of gratitude.”
Mayor Hogsett said the case was a perfect example of a career criminal who should never have had a gun in the first place.
“We have seen time and time again crime targeting innocent residents and law enforcement agencies where the perpetrator is a convicted felon with no legal right to possess a firearm, and if the facts bear out today in a similar manner, I want those people to know we are coming for them,” Hogsett told WRTV. “If you are a person who woke up this morning and made the choice to illegally supply these weapons to convicted felons in our community, we are coming for you too.”
The IMPD’s Critical Incident Response Team is handling the ongoing investigation with guidance from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, IMPD said.
The department’s Internal Affairs Unit will conduct a separate and independent investigation to determine whether the involved officers adhered to IMPD policy during the incident.
The civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will review the incident after the criminal investigation is complete.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content and Obscene Language:
