By CODE 4 K9 | SWAT/K9 Integration & Advanced Police K9 Training

This video shows an officer with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department runs a vehicle plate check, which returns to a vehicle that was involved in a carjacking the previous day. The driver momentarily tried to evade the officer who attempted to stop the vehicle. The driver then pulled into an apartment complex.

Immediately after the suspect vehicle stopped, the driver’s side rear passenger exited the car and fled on foot. The officer then started to give verbal commands to the suspects in the vehicle. The driver and another passenger exited the vehicle. The officer decided to leave his position at the patrol car to go hands-on with the driver. He then pulled the driver back and away from the suspect vehicle and pushed him to the ground, turning his back to the two other suspects. One of those individuals shot at the officer as they fled from the scene. The driver, who had been pushed to the ground, also fled on foot. The officer fell to the ground while randomly shooting at the suspects. The officer was shot during this exchange.

There is a lot to unpack here, but we need to learn from the officer’s decision-making in this incident. With knowledge that the vehicle was involved in a carjacking, why would he approach it by himself? Where’s the exigency in detaining these individuals? I get the fact that they’re suspects in a carjacking, but who cares? The risk of leaving a position of cover and concealment and approaching three potentially armed suspects isn’t worth it. Enough said on that.

Let’s talk about the officer’s weapon-handling when going hands-on with the driver. I’m sorry, but it was horrible, and he was lucky that it wasn’t taken away and used on him. Then he started to shoot at the suspects randomly. Did everyone who fled pose a deadly force threat? Were they all armed and shooting at him? You can’t say that you shot at them because they were involved in a carjacking the previous day. How do you know they were the ones who committed the carjacking? And how do they all present a current threat to the public?

I hate bashing other cops because this is a hard job, and it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and make mistakes. I’m sure if you asked the officer about this incident, he would say he messed up. Decisions have consequences. Lucky for him, the consequences weren’t fatal. Stay safe.