UPDATE (03/03/2023): IMPD Chief Randal Taylor announced Friday the officers involved in this incident were 4-year veteran Officer Donald Fague and 7-year veteran Officer Michael Herrera.
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INDIANAPOLIS — George Leachman’s criminal record indicates he has a history of ramming IMPD patrol cars and hurting police officers.
IMPD reports that this weekend, Leachman was at it again.
Three officers are recovering from injuries after investigators said Leachman rammed three police cars during an eastside chase late Saturday afternoon that ended in the 300 block of Poplar Road in Irvington.
Police believed Leachman was driving a pickup truck stolen in Allen County with a gun inside.
When the chase ended with two more wrecked cars and two injured officers, two patrolmen opened fire on Leachman, wounding him, and then provided first aid until he was transported to the hospital in stable condition.
Police found a gun in the stolen truck.
Leachman, a serious violent felon, is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Investigators will review the body-worn camera video to determine if Leachman leveled the weapon in the direction of pursuing officers or whether his attempt to injure them by ramming their vehicles provided sufficient justification for the officers to open fire.
“It’s certainly uncommon. I’m not familiar with any recent to this extent where three police vehicles are disabled in the course of that action,” said IMPD Lt. Shane Foley. “The dedication of the officers not only in this district but across the department. I can’t speak more highly of.”
Leachman’s history of bashing police cars in pursuit goes back to the summer of 2017 when officers reported three cars were rammed as they pursued a stolen pickup truck.
Two officers were injured in that chase.
A year later, investigators report Leachman was again at the wheel of a stolen pickup being pursued by officers searching for a theft suspect when that vehicle was driven over the hood of a patrol car.
In the 2017 case, Leachman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of Community Correction but cut off the GPS monitoring system affixed to his ankle.
He has been convicted of six counts of auto theft, pleaded guilty to battery on a pregnant woman causing injury and served several stints in state prison.
Saturday’s police report lists the Westville Correctional Facility as Leachman’s home address.
Once Leachman is released from the hospital, he will be charged with three counts of battery on a police officer causing injury and one count of resisting arrest, though additional charges could be filed.
