(BROWNSTOWN) – Indiana State Police Sgt. Stephen Wheeles has released the names of the two Brownstown Police officers who shot and killed a man during a domestic situation outside the Brownstown Police Department.
The officers involved were Chief Tom Hanner and Assistance Chief Joe Kelly. Both have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard protocol.
Chief Tom Hanner and Assistant Chief Joe Kelly
The two responded to a domestic situation involving 53-year-old Barry Rucker, Wednesday morning outside the police station on South Poplar Street at 8:16 a.m. When Hanner and Kelly tried to take Rucker into custody, he pulled out a gun. Both officers opened fire.
The officers and others who responded gave first aid to Rucker, and he was taken to Schneck Medical Center. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
The woman, who was in an argument with Rucker told police he had hid in her truck that morning. She didn’t see him until after she dropped her daughter off at school. That’s when he pointed a gun at her. She drove to the police station where the confrontation escalated and police got involved.
Rucker has a record of domestic violence. According to court records, he had a pending case in Jackson Circuit Court on felony charges of domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon and intimidation. He was arrested on those charges after a woman said Rucker battered her and cut her with a machete at his home.
