Indianapolis police fatally shoot man inside motel room during struggle while serving warrant

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Police fatally shot a man Friday as he struggled with a SWAT team inside a motel room, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said.

The man was shot about 10:30 a.m. at a motel on the northeast side of Indianapolis and was pronounced dead at a hospital, a department statement said.

The wanted man, whose name has not been released, “was known to be armed and dangerous and in possession of narcotics,” the statement said.

The SWAT team officers serving a search warrant with assistance from IMPD detectives made several announcements outside the motel room using a public address system and police sirens “in an attempt to get the suspect to peacefully surrender,” according to the statement.

Officers then forced their way inside and found the man and a woman emerging from the room’s bathroom. Officers repeatedly ordered the pair to get on the floor, police said.

The woman complied, but the man did not and as officers were trying to handcuff him, he struggled with them, pulled away and retrieved a firearm, police said.

The man “continued to physically resist the officers’ attempts to handcuff” him before he was shot, police said. IMPD said two firearms were later found in the room.

Two SWAT officers who fired their guns have been placed on administrative leave, a routine step after shootings involving police officers. The shooting will be investigated by an IMPD Critical Incident Response Team and internal affairs.