Witness concerned about bystander safety after officer fires shots during pursuit

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Witnesses expressed concerns about bystander safety following a vehicle pursuit that led to police gunfire, two arrests and a trail of damage.

The pursuit began Monday night near Madison and Epler avenues when the driver of a pickup truck refused to pull over for a traffic stop.

The driver led police to a dead end on Gilbert Avenue, made a U-turn and began speeding toward officers who had exited their vehicle to issue commands, an Indianapolis police spokesperson said.

An unidentified officer “believed her life was in danger” and fired an unknown number of shots, striking the truck but not its two occupants, according to officials.

The pursuit continued along U.S. 31, damaging multiple police and civilian vehicles. The truck was spotted driving south along northbound lanes of U.S. 31 on a shredded front tire.

“Sparks were flying!” a witness told News 8. “There were more police cars than I’ve ever seen in my life. They were coming out of everywhere like cockroaches.”

The truck was apprehended within minutes outside a furniture store near Fry Road.

Kaylen LaRoche, 29, and Brittanie Nickless, 24, were taken into custody.

“They came in right to the corner of my yard,” said Kathleen O’Connell, a longtime resident in the West Edgewood neighborhood on the south side of Indianapolis.

She was watching television in her living room when the high-speed pursuit entered her neighborhood and sparked gunfire.

“Stray bullets can get almost anywhere,” O’Connell told News 8. “They can go through walls [and] they can go through windows.”

Bystander safety is often compromised during high-speed police pursuits, criminology experts said.

Approximately 30% of the more than 350 people killed annually in police pursuits are innocent bystanders, according to data published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The vast majority of police pursuits are initiated in response to non-violent crimes.

LaRoche and Nickless face preliminary charges of robbery and resisting arrest. Attorneys representing LaRoche and Nickless could not be reached for comment.

Police officials did not immediately confirm the status of the officer who opened fire.