St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter has announced his decision in another recent officer-involved shooting of a mentally distraught person.
Cotter on Wednesday announced that three South Bend officers –- Evan Eckelbarger, Matthew Hegedus-Stewart and Jeremiah Hooks –- were justified in fatally shooting 35-year-old Jujuan Bates. It happened June 16 near the corner of Stanfield and Howard streets on the city’s north side.
A woman had called 911 and said Bates was in her backyard despite a protective order. An officer arrived to find Bates parked in a van, holding a gun to his head and putting it in his mouth. He refused officers’ commands to drop the gun and after talking with officers, he began walking away.
Police tried tasing him and hitting him with pepper balls but they had no effect. When he reached Howard Street and fired a gun into the air, three officers fired, killing him.
Under Indiana law Cotter says the officers were justified in self-defense of the defense of others, noting, “This concern included the residents of that neighborhood as well as other officers.”
The news comes a week after Cotter announced that South Bend officer Michael Dube (Doo BAY) acted within the law May 6 when he fatally shot 25-year-old Hannah Aberegg outside a Portage Avenue gas station. Her mother had called 911 saying she was suicidal.
South Bend police released a statement saying Oaklawn’s Mobile Crisis Unit cannot be deployed in cases involving guns or criminal allegations, such as the protective order violation.
