INDIANAPOLIS — In 2017, Southport police Lt. Aaron Allan was shot and killed in the line of duty. The man who is charged with his murder is standing trial, but will not be facing life in prison.
In 2017, Lt. Allan was called to the scene of a turned over vehicle. Prosecutors said 28-year-old Jason Brown shot and killed the Southport officer as he was attempting to check on him. Southport Police Chief Tom Vaughn said the entire incident was caught on body camera footage.
“Unfortunately I have had to see the body camera, and he literally dies on camera,” told Chief Vaughn. “You can hear him take his last breath.”
In 2017, former prosecutor Terry Curry announced that he would seek the death penalty in the case. This past December, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears agreed to drop the death penalty if Brown agreed to waive his rights to a jury trial. The agreement was for life in prison without the chance for parole.
Cameras are not allowed in Indiana court rooms, but in order to accommodate COVID protocols, public jury trials must be live streamed so the public can watch. If live streamed, the public would have been able to watch the body camera footage as it played out in court.
“One of the things Stacey Allan is deathly afraid of is for their 10-year-old son to see her husband get killed on YouTube or whatever social media it gets sent to,” explained Chief Vaughn, “I couldn’t imagine my 10-year-old son seeing me being killed over and over again.”
John Tompkins is criminal defensive attorney, but he is not on this case. He has been through trials that went through this streaming process.
“It is vastly more available to the public,” explained Tompkins, “Instead of having a court room that only has 60 seats, where you have to drive down to the court room, walk inside, go through the metal detectors, and hope there is a seat open, now you just have to click on the stream and watch the trial.”
During Brown’s trial, Marion Superior Judge Mark D. Stoner heard arguments in the case. On Friday, Judge Stoner announced that life imprisonment would be off the table.
“The fact that they went to trial is an absolute indication there was no plea agreement in place,” explained Tompkins, “There are certain things the parties can agree to short of a plea agreement. Sometimes those are called stipulations.”
Judge Stoner said the possibility was removed if Brown is convicted of murder because the state failed to prove during this week’s trial that Brown was aware Southport Police Department Lt. Aaron Allan was a police officer at the moment Allan was fatally shot.
“To be able to grab the gun, however he had it hanging upside down [in his vehicle], and fire 18 rounds, you got to be pretty coherent. You got to be able to aim in the direction you are shooting at,” answered Chief Vaughn. “Even in the other testimony from the officers, [they said] he pointed that firearm twice at two other officers. [You are] trying to tell me he isn’t coherent? I don’t believe that one either.”
Chief Vaughn said Brown’s defense team also argued that Brown was not in a clear mental state because he had a seizure prior to Lt. Allan’s arrival.
“Their claim is that he had a seizure from the accident, but the doctor who testified today said there were no signs of a seizure,” added Chief Vaughn, “He didn’t have a bit tongue, and some of the classic things that we see.”
The murder trial against Brown continues next week.
