A call was made. A vehicle had flipped upside down and came to a rest in a resident’s yard. Lieutenant Aaron Allan and an officer from the nearby Homecroft Police Department responded around three o’clock in the afternoon.
As they approached the car with the intent of helping potentially injured people, one of the occupants opened fire on Lt. Allan firing several times and killing him. The Homecroft officer and a nearby off-duty Sheriff’s deputy wasted no time in returning fire, striking the shooter, incapacitating him. They arrested both occupants of the rolled car, then they were flown to Eskenazi Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
They arrested both occupants of the rolled car, then flew them to Eskenazi Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
However, an officer is dead and it’s for no apparent reason. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says they will investigate and treat this incident as if it was one of their own officers involved.
Neighborhood resident Bryan McGary said, “It’s just hard to believe that this would happen here. I mean I’ve lived here since 1976 and we really haven’t had much. We do have a lot of policemen in our area that live here so it’s just one of those things.”
Lt. Allan is being remembered for being a wonderful human being. Ever since he was five years old he wanted to be a police officer. He set his mind to it and served a total of twenty years, the last six of which were spent serving as a volunteer officer in Southport.
Volunteer officers make up the entirety of the Southport Police Department and basically have all the powers of a paid police officer but minus the pay.
Southport Police Chief Thomas Vaughn said at a conference, “It is with a heavy heart that I say this afternoon we lost a brother.” He referred to Lt. Allan’s nickname “Teddy Bear” because he always tried to act tough and macho but whenever anyone needed his help he was the first one there.
He continued saying, “Lt. Allen was a hard worker, and today was no different. He responded to a crash with urgency to preserve life. Tragically his was lost.”
Though it is tragic and it is sad, this serves as a reminder of the dangerous work and difficult tasks that our officers have to perform and endure every day. Paid or not, their service is invaluable to our everyday life.
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