INDIANAPOLIS -- An officer with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department fired shots Thursday afternoon on the city's east side.
The shooting happened at about 12:30 p.m., near the intersection of 16th Street and Mitthoeffer Road.
Officers said they made a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area. They were speaking with people in the car when they asked the passenger to step out of the vehicle, IMPD Deputy Chief Chris Bailey said. They noticed a weapon on the passenger, he said.
Both the passenger and the officers then struggled for the weapon. The struggle went into the ditch.
During the struggle, a taser was deployed, but it was ineffective. When the struggle continued, an officer fired his weapon at the passenger. A weapon was recovered by police.
"There's no such thing as a routine traffic stop," Bailey said. "That's a word even the police department sometimes uses."
The suspect was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition. The officer is OK, police say.
