Members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomington Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies pursued a driver who refused to stop early Friday morning in Monroe and Greene Counties.
The pursuit began before midnight on February 9, 2023, in western Monroe County, and went into Greene County, before the driver turned around, and drove back to Monroe County, on Indiana State Road 45.
According to the MCSO, “Officers used Stinger tire deflating devices to get the driver to stop the vehicle. We had a brief standoff with the suspect that refused to exit the vehicle and had a handgun. He eventually exited and was taken into custody without further incident.”
On scanner traffic, members of law enforcement could be heard saying the man briefly held a gun to his own head, and a negotiator was being contacted, then the man was taken into custody without incident. The man had told a dispatcher a few minutes earlier during the pursuit that he’d shoot at police if they didn’t stop chasing him. A 45-caliber handgun was recovered after the man pulled into the MOCO gas station on Indiana 45 and was taken into custody.
The driver, who is a 53-year-old Bloomfield, Indiana man, had a warrant for his arrest for violation of pretrial for auto theft, and a warrant out of Greene County for two counts of Level 6 felonies for theft.
He garnered additional charges for unlawful carrying a handgun, a level 5 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a level 5 felony; resisting law enforcement, a level 6 felony; and a C misdemeanor for reckless driving.
