NEWS

Off-duty officer charged with shooting Indy detective

Michael Anthony Adams and Madeline Buckley
The Indianapolis Star
Adrian Aurs photo from 2004 case.

INDIANAPOLIS — Police have identified an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer accused of shooting and injuring a fellow officer Friday as Adrian Aurs. The 42-year-old officer was charged in an arrest warrant with attempted murder.

Aurs was taken into custody in Cincinnati after police there stopped his vehicle on I-75. He surrendered after an hourlong standoff with police, according to a news release from Indianapolis police.

Police will extradite Aurs to Indianapolis.

Police allege that Aurs, who was off-duty, shot an Indianapolis detective who was investigating a report of domestic violence Friday night involving Aurs and his estranged wife, and then he fled to Ohio.

The scene in the 6700 block of Valley Ridge Drive where an IMPD detective was shot by an off-duty officer.

The wounded detective, a veteran of the department, police said, was shot at least once in the elbow, and possibly a second time in his side.

He is expected to survive his injuries.

According to police, officers were called to the Overlook at Valley Ridge apartments at about 8:30 p.m.. Friday regarding the disturbance. Since the incident involved an IMPD officer, the department's special investigation unit was requested to handle the case.

As the SIU detective began his investigation at about 10:30 p.m., police said Aurs returned and began shooting inside the apartment.

The detective returned fire, but didn't hit Aurs, police said.

After the shooting, Aurs fled the scene in his personal vehicle. The wounded detective was rushed to a hospital with injuries to his elbow and back, where he remains in good condition.

Over the course of the next few hours, police were able to track Aurs to Cincinnati, where he was taken into custody, "without incident," by Cincinnati Police Department officers, said IMPD Major Rich Riddle.

16 officers fired 200 rounds in gunbattle with shooting suspect

At the time of the domestic disturbance and the shooting that followed, police said, the off-duty officer's two children were inside the apartment. They were not injured.

It was unclear early Saturday morning what exactly happened between Aurs and his wife before police were called, but Riddle said the circumstances were "serious enough of a criminal nature to call in our SIU detectives."

Friday's incident marks the second time an IMPD officer has been shot this week. On Monday, an officer was shot in the ankle while pursuing a suspect who fled a traffic stop at a gas station.

Aurs himself was shot while on duty in 2003, according to Indianapolis Star news reports. He exchanged gunfire with a 23-year-old man who was killed. Aurs was struck, but his bullet-proof vest saved his life, the reports say.

Aurs has a drunken-driving conviction on his record. In 2005, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of operating while intoxicated and was sentenced to probation, court records show.

In 2012, Aurs was involved in a fatal crash while he was off-duty. Aurs had a small amount of alcohol in his system when his vehicle collided with a car carrying a Greenwood couple, according to Indianapolis Star reports. However, prosecutors found that the amount of alcohol was below the legal limit, and the crash was the fault of the other driver. The office declined to bring charges. A 78-year-old Greenwood man was killed in the crash.

Detectives have collected Aurs' police badge and ID in light of his suspension in the latest incident, and termination has been recommended.

Follow Michael Anthony Adams on Twitter: @MichaelAdams317