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The Latest: Video shows man swinging bat at police officer

Posted August 30, 2017 7:00 am

The Associated Press

The baseball bat allegedly used by Ricky Ard, 55, of Evansville to first break windows at the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building and later attack law enforcement is numbered with a 12 for evidence late Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. Ard was shot by law enforcement personnel as he attacked. A Taser was used earlier, but it was ineffective according to witnesses. (Denny Simmons/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - The Latest on the fatal shooting outside a federal courthouse in Indiana (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

Police have released video showing a man swinging a bat at a police officer before he was fatally shot outside a federal courthouse in southern Indiana.

Evansville police on Wednesday released security video showing 55-year-old Ricky Ard smashing two windows in the courthouse doors Tuesday, along video from an officer's body camera. That video shows the officer trying to hit Ard with a stun gun before the black man charges at the officer with the bat. The officer then moves back and fires about a half-dozen shots.

Evansville police spokesman Sgt. Jason Cullum said during a news conference it appears the officer acted appropriately to defend himself.

Police say Ard had been escorted the federal building Monday after expressing "concerns about the government." Cullum declined to specify those complaints.

10:45 a.m.

Police in Indiana say an officer tried using a stun gun on a man who was smashing the windows of a federal courthouse before they fatally shot him.

Evansville police say the stun gun was "ineffective" against 55-year-old Ricky Ard, who injured a federal security officer with flying glass when he smashed front door windows with a baseball bat.

The Evansville Courier & Press reports officers told the black man to put down the bat, and that a witness, Anthony Wolfe said Ard was chasing after an officer before he was shot. Both a city police officer and a federal security officer fired their weapons.

Ard was pronounced dead Tuesday outside the courthouse. Police say he had been escorted out of that building Monday after expressing "concerns about the government."

The sister of the man who was shot and killed by law enforcement in front of the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building, center, is helped down the street after the shooting Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. The man has been identified as Ricky Ard, 55, of Evansville. A witness told police Ard was swinging a bat as he approached a police officer. (Marlena Sloss /Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press

The sister and nephew of Ricky Ard, 55, the man shot dead by law enforcement in front of the the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building, were across the street watching the investigation late Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. Ard allegedly broke windows at the federal building and then attacked law enforcement with a baseball bat before being shot with a Taser and eventually a gun. (Marlena Sloss /Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press

The sister of the man who was shot and killed by law enforcement in front of the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building, center, is seen shortly after the shooting Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. The man has been identified as Ricky Ard, 55, of Evansville. A witness told police Ard was swinging a bat as he approached a police officer. (Marlena Sloss /Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press

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