Bartholomew County, IN — A suspect in a multi-agency pursuit was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon after fleeing and firing on officers during the pursuit.
The initial investigation began shortly before noon when Brown County authorities contacted neighboring agencies and requested officers be on the lookout for Martin Louis Douglas Jr., 30, of Nineveh, and advised that he may be armed. Douglas was reportedly driving his Maroon Ford Pickup truck eastbound towards Bartholomew County and possibly intended to harm one or more acquaintances.
An officer with the Columbus Police Department soon spotted Douglas’s truck on a county road however, Martin Douglas refused to stop and fled from the officer. Other officers soon joined in the pursuit, including troopers from the Indiana State Police Versailles Post and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. The pursuit continued on area roads in southwest Bartholomew County and northern Jackson County, where Jackson County Deputies also joined in the pursuit.
The pursuit continued toward State Road 58 south of Columbus, where the truck eventually struck a tire deflation device. Douglas then allegedly stopped in the roadway and fired approximately fifteen rounds from an AR-15 style rifle at pursuing officers. Officers returned fire and it is believed at least three police vehicles were struck by rounds from Douglas’s weapon in the altercation, including two Columbus Police Department vehicles and an Indiana State Police SUV. Douglas then continued driving north and entered a cornfield near CR 300 West and Deaver Road, stopping his truck several hundred feet off the roadway. Officers surrounded the truck, and the Columbus Police Department SWAT team arrived, as well as the ISP SWAT Team, a short time later.
Around 5:30 pm Wednesday, and after an approximately five-hour standoff, Douglas exited his vehicle and picked up a second AR-15 style rifle from a box in the rear of his truck. ISP SWAT team members then fired and struck Martin Douglas. Martin Louis Douglas Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner’s office, and ISP Sellersburg Post detectives and crime scene technicians were called to investigate. No officers were injured in the incident.
The Indiana State Police received assistance from the Columbus Police Department, The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Decatur County Coroner’s Office.
