Sister of man accused of killing deputy: ‘Very sorry for hell families are going through’

RUSSIAVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — The family of the man police say is responsible for killing an Indiana sheriff’s deputy and wounding another says they are “sorry for the hell” the families of the officers are enduring.

Kasandra Dorsey, who spoke to I-Team 8 on behalf of her family, said that she couldn’t believe that her brother, 25-year-old Evan Dorsey, would be capable of committing the crime.

Indiana State Police say Dorsey shot and killed Howard County Sheriff Deputy Carl Koontz and wounded Sgt. Jordan Buckley as the two officers attempted to serve a warrant on Dorsey’s trailer around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

Authorities announced Monday that Dorsey died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Neighbors reported hearing as many as nine gunshots during the incident.

“It feels like you are going through hell,” Kasandra Dorsey told I-Team 8.

“I don’t want the world to know my brother as the person who shot the police. I want them to know the my brother as the fun-loving person I know. The caring person I know. He was getting his life on track. He was a good person. And I am very, very sorry that this went down. And I am very sorry for the hell that these families are going through”, Dorsey said.

Authorities went to Dorsey’s trailer Sunday to serve an outstanding warrant out of Clinton County. Jail records show at least three recent arrests.

He was also on probation for possession of a controlled substance and had served time in the Indiana Department of Corrections on drug-related charges. Kasandra Dorsey declined to discuss specifics of her brother’s past.

At the time of our interview Monday afternoon, Kasandra said she was unaware of the circumstances surrounding her brother’s death.

“All I know is that my brother is dead,” she said.

Hours later, state police would confirm that his death was an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Kasandra Dorsey described her brother as “crazy in a good way, fun-loving” and said she preferred to think of 25-year-old as a person turning his life around.

She said he was a drummer and a music lover.

The images of bullet holes, crime scene tape and a mugshot of a man police say is responsible for killing one sheriff’s deputy and wounding another sit in stark contrast to the man Kasandra Dorsey knows.

“This is Evan. This will always be Evan,” Kasandra said, holding up a photo of her brother wearing an Indianapolis Colts jersey, a jacket and hat.

Kasandra says she doesn’t want to believe what occurred – that her brother could have shot two officers.

She added that detectives have not interviewed her or her family members.

“(But) there’s the side of my family because we lost somebody and the side of the police officer’s family, who lost somebody. There’s always two sides to the story.”

Neighbors described Evan Dorsey as quiet, a person who kept to himself. Two neighbors, who asked not to be identified described him as “strange.” Another said he kept odd hours and would blare music.

Neighbor Rachelle Crull says heard the commotion Sunday morning.

“They said ‘sheriff’s department’ several times and then they started kicking in the door,” said Crull.

That’s when she says she went back inside her home and heard gunfire.

“I think maybe he might have gotten scared and did the first thing he thought to do. I wished he wouldn’t have did that and that it never happened to the deputies or him — but I can’t change anything.”