State police: Man fatally shot by officers resisted arrest

BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (AP) - A man fatally shot by officers outside a southern Indiana police department Wednesday produced a handgun while resisting arrest during a domestic dispute, Indiana State Police said.

Barry Rucker, 53, of Brownstown was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at a hospital in nearby Seymour, Sgt. Stephen Wheeles said.

Two officers responded to a domestic situation shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday outside the Brownstown Police Department and felt Rucker needed to be taken into custody, Wheeles said.

"Evidence indicates that he resisted their attempts to take him under arrest," Wheeles said.

The officers tried to subdue Rucker with a stun gun, but that didn't work, Wheeles said. Rucker then pulled out a small handgun, and the officers opened fire.

"We're unsure at this time how many times the individual was struck by those rounds that were fired," Wheeles said.

The two officers involved in the incident were not injured, and their names haven't been released, Wheeles said. They've been placed on administrative leave, which is standard in police-action shootings.

Jackson Circuit Court records show Rucker had a pending case on charges of domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon and intimidation with a deadly weapon, The (Seymour) Tribune reported.

The police station is in the same building as the town hall. David Willey, the town's clerk-treasurer, said he heard people yelling heard and police order the man to drop his gun.

"It was over and over again," Willey told The Tribune.

Willey said he then heard four or five gunshots

Police put Brownstown schools on lockdown as a precaution. The Jackson County Judicial Center also was placed under lockdown briefly.

Brownstown is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Indianapolis.