INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 24, 2014) – Police were involved in a shooting Monday afternoon.
It happened in the 2500 block of South Keystone Avenue around 12:15 p.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan police said.
Dispatchers said officers were serving a warrant in a drug investigation.
Undercover officers had knowledge that the suspect, Ryan Hubbard, 37, of Indianapolis, may be in the possession of weapons inside his home and opted to approach the suspect when he was away from his house.
When they approached Hubbard on the street, he appeared “fidgety” and looked like he was reaching for his waistband. He refused orders given by police to show his hands.
“He reached to his waistband several times and was fidgeting with his waistband,” said IMPD Sgt. Kendale Adams. “At which point officers made the determination that deadly force was appropriate.”
That’s when an officer fired an undisclosed number of shots, hitting Hubbard. The man was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition, but was later upgraded to stable condition.
Police said the suspect was not carrying a weapon.
“It’s important to understand that officers don’t have to wait until they see a weapon to believe they’re going to be engaged in a gun battle.”
Hubbard was about to be arrested for narcotics and was on parole for the same thing, police say. He was also being investigated on suspicion of physical abuse against his mother.
Dan Deno, who lives across the street, says he heard three pops and knew immediately that it was gunfire.
“So when I looked out my front door, with this being right across the street, I could see really well and could see that somebody was on the ground,” Deno said.
He and other neighbors say there has been concern about possible drug activity in the area.
IMPD says their Critical Incident Response Team will investigate the criminal allegations of this incident, and IMPD’s Internal Affairs Unit will conduct a separate administrative review to determine compliance with departmental policy.
