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Chief identifies IMPD officer who fired shots during gunfight between two men

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Posted at 7:53 PM, Feb 05, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-05 19:59:43-05

INDIANAPOLIS — Metro police on Friday identified an officer who fired shots during a gunfight between two men at an Indianapolis intersection on Jan. 28.

Authorities have said an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer was near 30th Street and Shadeland Avenue around 1 p.m. Jan. 28 when two men got out of their cars and began shooting at each other. The officer, who was not in a police uniform and in an unmarked car, returned fire, police have said.

Police have not said if either man fired shots at the officer.

READ MORE | IMPD officer fires shots during gunfight between two men at northeast side intersection

Shortly after the incident, officers were notified of a person shot on East 34th Street and another who arrived at Community Hospital East.

On Friday, IMPD Chief Randal Taylor identified the officer involved as Officer Michael Sojka, a six-year veteran of the department.

There is no body camera or dash camera footage of the incident since the officer was not in a police uniform or in a marked car, police said.

Prosecutors have filed charges in Marion Superior Court against both of the other men involved in the incident, according to court records.

Markeese Madison, 19, and Darius Jackson, 18, both face charges of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.