Suspect in officer's death now faces murder charge

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Thomas Hardy now faces a murder charge for the death of IMPD Officer David Moore.

Records obtained by 24-Hour News 8 list a charge of Murder for Hardy in addition to two counts of robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm.

Later Thursday, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced the charges saying “This office will now vigorously prosecute this case to its conclusion.”

Curry went on to discuss the option of seeking the death penalty saying that the case would be referred to a capitol punishment committee for review. He said the committee will work with detectives and the Moore family in making the decision about whether or not they would seek the death penalty.

"As of today we thus have made no decision, one way or another,” Curry said.

Frank Straub, Director of Public Safety, addressed the charges against Hardy saying “I’d like to send a very clear message; we will not tolerate any attack against our officers, our department or our community. We will be relentless in the investigation, apprehension and prosecution of those individuals who threaten the lives of our police officers, threaten our department and threaten our community.”

“People will see justice is done,” said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard as he thanked the IMPD and the prosecutor’s office for their work in the case.

Hardy is accused of shooting the officer four times during a Sunday morning traffic stop. Moore died from injuries Wednesday.

Hardy is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Hardy’s criminal past dates back to 1982 and he was just released from the Marion County Jail on December 21st. He was arrested Sunday on charges of robbery and felon in possession of a firearm.