INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD identified the two officers who shot a man on the near east side Feb. 25.
The incident happened just after 5 p.m. in the 300 block of Poplar Road following a pursuit. The two officers involved were identified as Donald Fague, a four-year veteran, and Michael Herrera, a seven-year veteran.
Fague and Herrera shot 42-year-old George Leachman, who was arrested on three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting law enforcement, all of which are felonies.
IMPD Lt. Shane Foley said in a media briefing after the incident that officers in the area of 19th Street and Campbell Avenue, which is one block west of Arlington Avenue, located a black Ford F-250 truck. An alert also told officers that there might be a stolen gun associated with the truck.
When police tried to stop the pickup, Leachman put the truck in reverse and slammed into a squad car, activating airbags and causing the police vehicle to become disabled, Foley said.
Other officers subsequently located the vehicle and tried to stop it, but the suspect led police on a pursuit. Two additional IMPD cars sustained significant crash damage during the chase when Leachman backed into their cars.
Then, in the 300 block of Poplar Road, police said an officer-involved shooting occurred.
Three officers received non-life threatening injuries in the ramming incidents, but none were the result of gunfire. All three were taken to hospitals and released later Saturday night.
Leachman "received injuries consistent with a gunshot wound," and he was taken to an area hospital in stable condition, according to police.
IMPD said the truck had been reported stolen from New Haven, Indiana, on Feb. 23. Automated license plate readers had provided multiple notifications that the vehicle was stolen and in the area.
The ramming incidents were captured on police body-worn cameras, and detectives are reviewing those recordings.
The IMPD Critical Incident Response Team will conduct the criminal investigation.
A separate administrative investigation is being conducted by IMPD Internal Affairs. The officers who fired their guns have been placed on administrative leave, which is IMPD protocol in such cases.
The civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will also conduct a mandatory hearing due to the attempted use of deadly force against a person.
The Police Officer Support Team was called to provide peer support for officers, and the IMPD Chaplain’s Office responded to assist.
If you have information that could help in the investigation, IMPD asks that you contact Detective Dustin Keedy at the homicide office by calling 317-327-3475. Anyone with information can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 317-262-TIPS.
Leachman's history of police chases
In 2018, IMPD spotted a stolen Ford truck, and tried to stop the driver. That's when police said Leachman put the truck in reverse and backed into an officer's car.
Leachman ultimately pleaded guilty to resisting police and was sent to prison.
A year earlier, Leachman pleaded guilty to ramming several police cars during a chase, injuring two officers. He was supposed to be on GPS monitoring, but police said he removed his ankle monitoring and went on the run at that time.