During the more than hourlong news conference, police played 911 tapes and showed body camera footage preceding the police shooting of 65-year-old Richard D. Glass at his apartment complex on North Shore Drive.
Police officials said officers responded to the complex just after 9:30 p.m. on a welfare check, after a neighbor had called. Shortly after, Glass himself called 911 to report that his phone had been hacked.
Police said Glass, a military veteran, told the 911 dispatcher he had a gun and was trying to protect himself. He said he would take the magazine out of the gun only after officers arrived. But when they did, evidence played Friday showed he didn’t believe they were law enforcement, made threatening statements and continued to call 911.
Police said they continued trying to deescalate the situation, but that Glass continued to make threats toward police. They said he eventually fired two shots which hit other apartments, and fired at officers.
Other departments and teams came to the scene, including members of the Jeffersonville SWAT team.
Shortly after midnight, police say Lt. Shaune Davis fired at Glass after he saw him “shoulder a rifle” with a scope “to fire the weapon again,” according to a news release.
Officials said they believe Davis fired the fatal shot, but are awaiting ballistics information. He was initially assigned to administrative leave after the shooting and has transitioned to limited duty status.
Two other officers who were part of that team were initially assigned to administrative leave but have returned to regular duty.
Jeffersonville Police Chief Kenny Kavanaugh said in a news release that the incident led to “tragedy, sadness and life-changing events.”
“As a policing agency and law enforcement leader, we clearly recognize the difficult challenge of maintaining public safety and the direct threats of anti-social behavior and social disorder, specifically active armed aggressors…” He added that he has “full trust and confidence in the actions of the Jeffersonville police officers related to the critical incident response and officer-involved shooting.”
Indiana State Police have led the criminal investigation, which has been turned over to Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull for review.
Jeffersonville police have also led an internal investigation.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc. and the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation.
