Central Indiana, Fort Wayne officers cleared in shootings

AVON, Ind. (AP) - Authorities in central Indiana and Fort Wayne say officers were justified in separate shootings that killed men armed with knives.

The Hendricks County Sheriff's Department's Firearms Review Board found Deputy Jason Hays' actions were necessary to stop the threat he faced, and county Prosecutor Patricia Baldwin cleared him in the November shooting of Brad King, 29, of Avon, the department said Friday.

In Fort Wayne, the Allen County Prosecutor's Office ruled an officer was justified in using deadly force against 62-year-old Charles E. Antrup in October.

Hays and a second Hendricks County deputy, Jeremy Thomas, had been sent to King's home about 15 miles west of Indianapolis on Nov. 29 after someone there called 911 seven times and hung up each time.

After one of the calls, the dispatcher called the residence and spoke with the caller, the Sheriff's Department has said. The caller said he dialed 911 by mistake, then asked to have an officer come to his home because he was "going through a little psycho phase," then changed his mind and said he was fine.

When the officers arrived, they confronted King at the rear of the home, the department said. King pulled out a 10-inch knife, refused to drop it and began running toward Hays, whose gunshot struck King in an arm and then his chest. King and Hays were about 10 feet apart at the time of the shooting, the department said.

King's father, Matt King, told The Indianapolis Star after the shooting that his son was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 20.

Sheriff Brett Clark said he is committed to working with the community to address the issues around mental illness and law enforcement interaction. He said in a statement he plans additional training for his officers.

In the Fort Wayne case, Antrup was shot during an Oct. 8 incident outside a hotel.

Antrup told the officer, who wasn't identified, that he was going to kill someone, the prosecutor's office said in a statement Thursday. Antrup refused to put the knife down after several requests from the officer to do so.

Antrup walked toward the officer and was about 2 or 3 feet away, still refusing to drop the knife down, when the officer shot him, the statement said.

An autopsy was found that Antrup had a blood-alcohol level that was about 2ˆ½ times the legal limit, it said.