No Way to Start A Weekend...
This in from the Indy Star:
7:36 AM -- Wounded officer in critical condition
An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officer wounded in the head during a police shootout with a murder suspect was in critical condition this morning.
Patrolman Jason A. Fishburn, 29, was in a medically induced coma at Wishard Memorial Hospital’s intensive care unit. Fishburn under went two and half hours of surgery that ended at 11:30 p.m. Thursday. He had been wounded in the left side of the head. The bullet passed through the skull, said Sgt. Matthew Mount, IMPD spokesman.
"The next two days are going to be most critical" in Fishburn’s recovery, Mount said this morning.
Fishburn’s family and police colleagues kept vigil at the hospital.
"He hasn’t given up, so we aren’t abandoning hope," Mount said.
Police identified the suspect as Brian Reese, 36, Indianapolis. He was being treated in Wishard's detention unit for a shoulder wound.
Fishburn and Reese were wounded Thursday night near 10th Street and Euclid Avenue on the Eastside. Fishburn and other officers had been tracking a suspect in the killing Sunday of Clifford Haddix, 69, 3000 block of Newton Avenue, in his home.
-- Vic Ryckaert
(If ever there was a time for a miracle, this would be it. Even with a small caliber round, ANY severe cranial trauma such as this is life0-threatening. And the worse part is worrying about edema (swelling) of the brain matter...that can lead to irrecoverable damage to the brain.)
Another story reported earlier -
A 29-year-old Indianapolis police officer was shot in the head and clinging to life late Thursday after a gunbattle on the Eastside that also wounded the suspect -- a man police believe killed a 69-year-old retiree earlier this week.
The officer, Jason A. Fishburn, and the suspect, whose name was not released by police, were taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital.
Indianapolis Police Chief Michael Spears called Fishburn a hero and asked the community to pray for him.
He said Fishburn suffered a "devastating'' gunshot wound to the head and was in surgery for several hours after the shooting, which occurred at about 7:20 p.m. Spears said doctors tried to relieve swelling on Fishburn's brain. He said the officer also was shot in the torso but that his bullet-proof vest took the brunt of that shot.
Fishburn, a five-year veteran of the department, is married and comes from a law enforcement family, the chief said. His father is an Indianapolis police officer, and his uncle is a retired U.S. marshal, Spears said.
"Officer Fishburn is our hero. Officer Fishburn was out here doing everything that the citizens of this city want from their Police Department,'' Spears said at a news conference at Wishard. He was joined by Mayor Greg Ballard.
Spears said the suspect, a 36-year-old man, suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
That injury did not appear to be life-threatening.
Spears said he was wanted in connection with the killing of Clifford Haddix, 69, 3000 block of Newton Avenue, who was slain in his home Sunday.
Sgt. Paul Thompson, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said undercover officers were tracking the man, who also was wanted on several forgery warrants.
The man was in a van driven by a woman that was spotted in the 1400 block of Bosart Avenue, Thompson said. Undercover officers called for backup by uniformed officers, and shortly thereafter, the confrontation occurred.
The van stopped in the parking lot of the Kroger grocery store in the Linwood Square shopping center, 4445 E. 10th St., and the suspect got out and fled, Thompson said.
Police chased him on foot south and then southeast, down Linwood Avenue, through the Linwood Court Apartments and toward Euclid Avenue.
Gunfire was exchanged behind the apartments, Thompson said.
After the gunfire, officers realized one of their own was missing. Fishburn was found shot nearby.
"I'm so proud of him,'' Spears said at the hospital news conference. "Please pray for officer Jason Fishburn.''
Those gathered for the opening service of Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration at Light of the World Christian Church on Thursday did just that after they learned of the shooting from Ballard.
"It doesn't look good," Ballard told them.
At 7:21 p.m., police radio traffic signaled "shots fired.'' At 7:22 p.m., an officer radioed in: "Control, start up a medic,'' using a number identification for a police officer.
Police radio traffic also indicated a squad car was dispatched to pick up the officer's wife at a Southside restaurant, and members of the Police Officer Support Team, which provides counseling and support for officers involved in shootings or other crises, were summoned to the shooting scene.
At least four or five yellow evidence markers were placed in the street in the 800 block of Euclid -- the scene of the shooting. The markers typically are used to indicate the locations of shell casings.
Several dozen marked squad cars, some with emergency lights flashing, clogged the area. Yellow crime scene tape was up in the immediate area of the shootings, and patrol cars blocked several nearby intersections.
William Spurlin, 56, was in the back of his house in the 800 block of North Linwood Avenue, one block east of Euclid, when he heard six to eight shots.
"The first couple went pop, pop,'' he said. "And then it was real rapid fire.''
Allan Lowe, 42, was sitting on his front porch at the intersection of Linwood Avenue and St. Clair Street when he saw police cars with emergency lights flashing and chasing a white van.
Moments later, he saw a man run through an apartment complex and into an alley. Then he heard gunfire.
"I just told my landlord this afternoon that I'm going to move, and then this happens," said Lowe, who has lived in the neighborhood for a little more than a year.
"We've had our share of things going on, but nothing like this."
Speaking at Wishard after the church service, Ballard underscored the dangers of police work and urged the community to appreciate the sacrifices officers make.
"This is not just a 9-to-5 job,'' he said. "This is important work protecting all of us."
((Since 2000, there have been 14 LEOs who have been shot around Marion County, with FOUR ending in fatalities.
Take note, Fort Wayne...this type of $hit is coming if you do not do something about it. Criminals ARE getting BOLDER, and no amount of GUN BANS will deter them.
And if that means holding people ACCOUNTABLE and find SOME way to make them take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for themselves and their children, who might just wind up the next generation of street thugs (if they aren't there already)...so be it.
Black leaders, YOU (and that means every single one of you) need to stop the BSing, get your butts ON the streets and take your plans TO YOUR PEOPLE. Follow the lead of all the notable leaders in the Bible...for once.
Citizens, be AWARE of your surroundings...that means your PROPERTY, your VEHICLE (when away from home), your NEIGHBORHOOD (notice and keep track of unusual trends, people, etc), and bring your children up to be aware as well, especially with the predatory nature of some of these deviants out there.
I have said time and time again, EVERY officer is "always on call", and that mindset doesn't just turn off when they walk in the front door of their home. Hell, it never really ends. Once you're conditioned to notice things out of the ordinary, you never see things the same again.
That explains MY reasoning for what I notice in MY neighborhood, but that doesn't mean other concerned people out there cannot teach themselves some "situational awareness".
And in today;'s society, we don't have the luxury of ignoring things hoping they will go away (such as crime and the associated activities).
My prayers go out to the family, and I would like to see Off. Fishburn make a full recovery. With what I've read and learned over the years, I don't believe such will be the case, but I would love to be proved wrong. And unless our creator deems fit to perform something only HE can accomplish, Jason Fishburn's family will be in for some very difficult road to travel in the coming months.
We can wish them ALL well during the interim. We can assist the family in ANY way possible, We can be the shoulder to cry on and the arm to lean on. And we can always hope for this brave officer to survive.
He may not be the officer that took to the street yesterday, but he will still be with us,
And should our maker determine that his shift is over, we will acknowledge his sacrifice and remember him fondly knowing he did his duty.
Either way, we must never forget. So take a moment to ponder the life and fate of this officer. It is people like THIS that allow the rest of you to enjoy the freedoms and liberty on our home front, on our streets, and in our neighborhoods}We're ALL pulling for you, Jason.
This sums it up best:
A Policeman's Prayer
While you sleep, we're there.

When you're sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, or celebrating Christmas, we're there.

When it’s raining and cold, and you're glad to be in your home with your family, we're out there.

When it's your children's birthday, we're out there.

When it's our children's birthday, we're still out there.

You put on a suit and dress to go to work, we strap on a ballistic vest and a gun.

There's little room for error in your job, in ours there is none.

An error by you means a demotion; an error by us means a funeral.

When you tell your families "see you tonight" as you leave for work, you mean it.

When we tell our family that, we pray we will.

At your job you strive to succeed, at our job we strive to survive.

In your job, one bad person is the talk of the office, in our job; one bad officer makes the news and suddenly we’re all bad.

In these headlines it's not what good we've done, but how much better it could have been done.

When you're scared you call us, when we're scared, we must carry on.

While you're eating a home cooked meal, we're having another hamburger.

While you're asleep with your spouse, ours sleep alone.

So the next time you're out with your family or friends, and you see a patrol car go by, remember the incredible sacrifice made by these officers every day.

Inside that car is a person that sacrifices his/her life, both professionally and personally Everyday.
- Author Unknown-

Do have a SAFE weekend.