INDIANAPOLIS — The shooter of an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer was found guilty on charges of Attempted Murder, Resisting Law Enforcement and a Habitual Offender Sentencing Enhancement.
A sentence hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2019.
The vehicle pursuit began a little after 4 a.m. on March 8, 2016.
An IMPD officer attempted a traffic stop on the city’s south east side. When the officer initiated the stop of a 2001 blue Cavalier, the driver, Micahel Swafford, ignored the police lights and took off onto Oakland Avenue and reached speeds of 80 miles per hour.
The chase began, and Swafford eventually slowed down to 10-15 miles per hour and fired shots at the officer. One bullet struck the front windshield of the officer’s police vehicle and another shot through the officer’s spotlight, shattering the driver’s window.
According to testimony at trial, Swafford called the owner of the vehicle at approximately 4:30 a.m. the morning of the shooting and told the witness to report the car was stolen. Although, multiple witnesses testified at the trial that Swafford was known to drive this vehicle.
Swafford was not caught by the officer chasing him.
But just 16 hours later, IMPD officers responded to a vehicle fire at an abandoned apartment complex on North Emerson Avenue.
The blue cavalier was “completely engulfed” in flames.
According to the vehicle’s identification number, it was confirmed to be the vehicle present in the officer-involved shooting earlier that day. Investigators located five spent shell casings inside the vehicle that matched one shell casing found at the scene.
Swafford was located and arrested on March 20, 2016.
At the time of his arrest, officers located an assault rifle with a 75-round ammunition drum. Further investigation confirmed the rifle as the weapon that was fired during the incident.
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