SOUTHPORT, Ind. – The man accused of fatally shooting Southport Police Department Lieutenant Aaron Allan has been identified.
A police report says the suspect in this case is 28-year-old Jason Brown, who was arrested on a preliminary charge of murder. Brown and an unidentified individual were taken to the hospital in police custody.
After being interviewed as a witness, the other person with Brown was released.
Police say the shooting occurred when Allan and a Homecroft Police Department officer responded to the scene of a crash near Maynard Drive and Madison Avenue on Thursday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. The driver crashed through a fence, and the car flipped over.
As Allan approached the car to render aid to the occupants in the vehicle, Brown allegedly started shooting at the officer, and Allan was hit multiple times. He was transported to Eskenazi Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
It is unclear why the suspect fired shots at Allan. Traci Wagner is a longtime friend of Brown. She says she’s known him since elementary school, and this crime is very “out of character.”
“There’s no winner in this situation. There’s no winner. There just isn’t. So many lives were ruined last night, yesterday by all of this,” Wagner said.
Police say the Homecroft officer and an off-duty Johnson County reserve deputy, who stopped to assist, returned fire during the incident, striking one of the two individuals in the overturned vehicle. One of the individuals sustained injuries from an officer’s gunshot, while the other suffered injuries in the crash. Those injuries are believed to be non-life threatening, police say.
“It’s tragic. It’s a crying shame something like this had to happen,” said Gordon Cocke.
Cocke, a retired police officer from Kansas City, is one of countless people who showed up to the Southport police department to lay flowers and say a prayer for Allan’s family.
He says the fact that Allan got ambushed trying to help those in need is hard to comprehend.
“I don’t think he had any idea what he was getting into and didn’t have a chance to defend himself. It was a cold blooded murder. It’s a shame that it happened,” said Cocke.
Witnesses say Brown was the driver of the car and fired the fatal shots while hanging upside down inside the car.
The official investigation into the shooting is being handled by the IMPD.
The following statement was released by a detective close to the investigation:
“I have never seen the support and willingness to come forward that I saw displayed during the investigation of the murder of Lt. Aaron Allen on July 27, 2017.…Many witnesses expressed their support for us as officers and expressed sadness and sympathy at the loss of Lt. Allen. I would like the citizens of Southport Indiana to know that their support for law enforcement officers and willingness to stand together as a community is exceptional. Thank you for making a difficult day a little easier!”
Chief Vaughn set up a GoFundMe account for Allan’s family. Click the link if you’d like to contribute.
