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ISP investigating early morning shooting in Clay County
Indiana State Police are investigating an early morning shooting in Clay County that sent a Greene County man to the hospital and put a sheriff’s deputy on administrative leave Wednesday.
ISP has positively identified the man shot by a Clay County Sheriff’s deputy was Marion Tanner Joseph Haywood, 23, of Owensburg, Indiana. Haywood was transported to Terre Haute Regional Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Officials confirm once medically cleared by doctors at the hospital. Haywood will be taken into custody and transported to the Clay County Justice Center for booking on charges stemming from the early morning incident and being held on an active Monroe County warrant for domestic battery with a deadly weapon.
No deputies were reported injured during the incident.
However, CCSD officials confirmed Deputy Hunter Gambill had been placed on administrative leave per department protocols until the investigation concludes.
Clay County Sheriff Paul Harden requested ISP to investigate the incident early Wednesday morning.
“These types of situations are part of our regular departmental protocols, having an outside agency do the investigation,” said Chief Deputy Josh Clarke later in the afternoon. “We want to ensure transparency by our department when something like this happens and maintain our community’s trust.”
Although details are limited due to the ongoing ISP investigation, some were released in a press release Wednesday afternoon by ISP Public Information Officer Trooper Matt Ames. (Read the entire document at content.govdelivery.com/…/INPOLICE/bulletins/2913d08)
The incident began with the report of suspicious activity at a residence near the Clay/Vigo county line at approximately 2:27 a.m. The unidentified caller said a suspicious man was knocking vigorously on a door.
As deputies were dispatched to the scene, the subject, identified as Haywood, left the residence before they could arrive.
A short time later, a deputy observed a speeding vehicle fitting the description provided during the original call traveling eastbound on State Road 46 near County Road 150 West.
The deputy attempted a traffic stop, but a pursuit ensued, continuing northbound onto State Road 59.
In the report, Haywood allegedly began to discard items from the vehicle during the pursuit, which later were determined by the Indiana State Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal team (EOD) to be improvised explosive devices(IEDs).
As the pursuit continued onto County Road 100 East, then County Road 300 North, Haywood failed to negotiate a turn and left the roadway as the deputy caught up. Haywood then maneuvered the vehicle back onto the road and proceeded to drive the vehicle directly at Gambill.
Due to the fact Gambill believed his life was in danger, he discharged his duty weapon at the vehicle driven by Haywood.
However, Haywood continued north on County Road 100 East before stopping to exit the vehicle and attempted to run on foot.
At that time, a Clay County K-9 officer was released, and the Haywood subdued.
A section of State Road 59 was closed to traffic where Haywood allegedly threw items out during the pursuit. It was closed to allow ISP Explosive Ordnance Disposal team (EOD), K-9 units, and the use of special tools to locate and inspect the items. The abandoned vehicle was also checked. Upon reviewing all the information, the EOD team found the discarded items were active explosives. The EOD team neutralized the items, deeming the scene safe.
Indiana State Police detectives Mike Featherling, Ryan Winters, and Jason Schofstall, along with the assistance of Lieutenant Jeff Hearon, First Sergeant Jason Fajt, Sergeant Sam Stearley, CSI Sergeant Brandon Mullen and CSI Sergeant Michael Organ of the Putnamville State Police Post are actively investigating the incident.
There is no further information to release at this time. Officials confirmed upon completion of the investigation; detectives will submit a full report of the incident to the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office for review and decide on potential charges to file.
The CCSD is also performing an internal investigation into the incident, of which details will not be released until completed, and a case file is presented to the prosecutor’s office.
Under the Law, criminal charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.