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Gary Indiana Police Officer Jeffery Brady Westerfield Shot, Killed on His Birthday
Officer Jeffery Brady Westerfield was found by a citizen unresponsive in a parked squad car just before 6 a.m. near 26th Avenue and Van Buren Street, according to Chief Wade Ingram.
Police suspect the shooting may have stemmed from an earlier call in the area, possibly for a report of shots fired, Ingram said in a press conference Sunday.
"We believe he was searching the area for a suspect," Ingram said, noting that police are still investigating the incident.
Ingram said he did not believe the shooting involved a traffic stop. Shell casings were found at the scene, according to authorities.
Officials said Westerfield was a 19-year veteran on the force. He has four daughters and was engaged to be married.
"It is a tremendous loss to the department," said 5th District Councilwoman Kimberly Robinson.
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2 police officers shot near Denver; suspect held
DENVER - A man shot and wounded two suburban Denver police officers Saturday night when they went to his residence to check on his welfare, authorities said.
The injured female and male officers returned fire, wounding the gunman, and he was arrested following the shooting in Lakewood, a few miles west of downtown Denver.
Lakewood police spokesman Sgt. Randy McNitt said all three were hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries.
He told The Associated Press that the officers' bullet-proof vests "played a key role" in saving their lives.
The violence erupted around 10 p.m. MDT when the two were sent to a residence to check on the man, after his wife told police he was despondent and was worried about him.
McNitt said that as the police arrived, the suspect came outside and opened fire with a handgun.
There was no further information on the extent of the injuries following the exchange of gunfire. No names were released.
Station KMGH reported that police also searched the man's home to see if he had weapons other than the handgun.
The residence was located near the intersection of West Jewell Avenue and South Kipling Street.
Police say the investigation will last through the night and the intersection will remain closed until morning.
The station said at least 14 police vehicles and 5 emergency vehicles, as well as vehicles from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, responded to the shooting.
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Veteran Indianapolis police officer, 51, dead, suspect remains critical after alley gun battle
Officer Perry Renn, 51, was pronounced dead at a hospital at 9:58 p.m. Saturday, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement early Sunday morning. Renn had been with the IMPD for nearly 22 years.
According to police, Renn and another officer responded to a call about shots being fired in the 3400 block of Forest Manor, went to the alley and approached a group of unidentified subjects. As officers approached, 25-year-old Major Davis Jr. of Indianapolis began shooting, prompting officers to return fire, police said.
Davis also was struck and remains in critical condition following surgery. Police said he is preliminarily charged with murder.
An investigation is ongoing.
"This is a sad day for the IMPD family and the community as a whole," said IMPD Chief Rick Hite. "Please keep Officer Renn's family in your prayers. We will remain vigilant as we continue to take care of one another and the city in the days and weeks to come."
Public Safety Director Troy Riggs said Renn was the eighth police officer shot during the last 18 months.
The shootings are the latest in a violent year for Indianapolis, which is on track to rival its record of 162 homicides, set in 1998. A shooting in an Indianapolis neighborhood that's popular to go bar-hopping in in injured seven people early Saturday.
"Our officers less than 24 hours ago were attending to the wounded citizens of this city," Hite said, while standing alongside Riggs and Mayor Greg Ballard outside the hospital Saturday night. "What are we going to do about people in the community who . welcome us with assault weapons when we are sending out officers who are trying to protect them?"
Ballard said it was "a time to grieve and we want to send our hearts out for the family of Officer Renn."
Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Rick Snyder said Renn was "heroic" his entire career.
"For 20 years he did his job for the citizens and for the city," Snyder told The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/1qZePjg). "He put on a badge and went to work knowing the risks. Unfortunately, he is not going home tonight and a family is ruined."
