IMPD explains deadly force policy

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Two IMPD officers remain on paid administrative leave after a shooting that left a suspected burglar dead.

Officers found 52-year old Lenon Henry in the basement of a home in the 3800 block of Arlington Street. They said he made a sudden movement toward his waistband and one of the officers fired .

Later police learned Henry had no weapon on him.

IMPD has an eight-page policy on officer-involved shootings, when to use deadly force, and what happens when police do pull the trigger. But any officer will also tell you, it's anything but a simple, cut and dry decision.

“We have to make split second decisions that mean the difference between life or death," said IMPD spokesperson Kendale Adams. "At the end of the day the ultimate deciding factor is whether that officer feels his or her life is in jeopardy or that of a third person is in jeopardy.”

Adams said officers train more than 2,000 hours as recruits and then go through hours of in-service training every year after that. But he said – when it comes to threatening situations - no scenario is the same.  

“You have to weigh all of the circumstances and all of the information and so it's hard to pick apart and say ‘what about this?’ and ‘what about that?’ because every situation is totally different."

In any police action shooting - the department launches multiple inquiries into every detail of what happened. There's a criminal investigation and an administrative one. The different departments include, homicide, professional standards and internal affairs.

"These are very tough decisions and that's why they’re extremely and thoroughly investigated to ensure that officers have made the right decision," said Adams. “Officers don't go to work wanting to harm people.”

In this most recent case, police said when they got to the scene, they were told by the homeowner that along with a possible burglar inside, there were guns in the home. Officers said they also found live ammunition.

Police said they found the suspected burglar in the unlit basement with a large coat over the top half of his body and that they provided "clear verbal commands directing the suspect to show his hands."

Officers say Henry refused despite being told ten more times.

When they tried to remove the coat, police say he "made a sudden movement reaching to the waistband of his pants."

According to the department, officers feared for their safety and fired.