INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis police leaders told
recruits Monday that the weekend shooting death of a city officer — one
of two Indiana police officers fatally shot in a span of less than 10
hours — was a reminder of the job’s dangers.
"In a private meeting
I had with them when we first hired them for the job I told them that
this was the reality of the job. That this could happen. That they
needed to be ready for this very moment," Public Safety Director Troy
Riggs said Monday after the closed-door meeting. "I reminded them of
that today.
"I also challenged them. I said, as I did the first
time, that if they’re not ready to meet this challenge, if they weren’t
ready to lay their life on the line for the safety of others that they
needed to find another profession. We’ve had none leave," he said.
A
memorial was growing Monday around the patrol car of Indianapolis
Officer Perry Renn, who died Saturday in a gun fight. Police said the
suspect in Renn’s shooting, 25-year-old Major Davis Jr., was armed with
an assault rifle. The Marion County coroner said Monday the cause of
death for Renn was multiple gunshot wounds.
The other fatal police
shooting occurred Sunday morning in Gary, where Patrolman Jeffrey
Westerfield was found fatally shot inside his patrol car early Sunday,
his 47th birthday. Police spokeswoman Cpl. Gabrielle King said police
had no new information on the investigation. Police previously had said
three people, including one person of interest, had been taken into
custody, but Monday afternoon she said she didn’t know whether anyone
was still being held.
A squad car, its windshield covered with a
black cloth, was parked outside the Gary Police Department headquarters
in tribute to Westerfield.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police
Department announced Monday that Renn’s funeral would be held 11 a.m.
Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, home of the
Indianapolis Pacers. Visitation will be held 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday
at Crown Hill Funeral Home on the city’s northside.
Both events are
open to the public.
Police said Davis remained in critical
condition Monday. He faces a preliminary charge of murder. Marion County
Prosecutors Office spokeswoman Peg McLeish said the investigation is
continuing and she didn’t know when formal charges would be filed.