Police fatally shoot a man who sliced an officer’s face during a scuffle

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A police officer fatally shot a knife-wielding man Wednesday after he cut an officer in the face during a scuffle in central Indiana, police said.

Three officers responded to a call at about 6 a.m. from a woman who said the man arrived at her apartment to visit his child hours before the scheduled time.

“The mother was not willing to relinquish the child. It was still dark and well before the planned time. That’s when she called police,” Beech Grove Deputy Police Chief Tom Hurrle told WXIN-TV.

The man said he had come to pick up his child, drew a knife and told officers they would have to shoot him, Hurrle said.

The officers then used a Taser as they tried to physically restrain the man. After one officer was cut in the face, an officer fired a single shot, killing the man.

Police did not immediately release the man’s identity. The officer who was cut also suffered a minor ankle injury and was taken to a hospital.

Indiana State Police are investigating. State police Sgt. John Perrine said he did not know which of the three Beech Grove officers fired the shot. All three were placed on administrative leave, a routine step after shootings involving police officers.

Beech Grove is a city within the southeast boundary of Indianapolis.