FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Body camera video shows the chaotic moments Fort Wayne police officers encountered a man armed with a knife after responding to a reported domestic battery call that left one officer stabbed multiple times before officers opened fire.
The Fort Wayne Police Department released the critical incident video on May 1 following the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office review of the Sept. 22, 2025 shooting, which resulted in the death of Jacob Leckenby. Prosecutors determined the officers’ use of force was justified and found no evidence of criminal liability.
According to the video, officers were dispatched around 5:55 p.m. to an apartment after a caller reported a woman was “getting beat real bad” inside apartment 308.
When officers arrived, they spoke with a visibly shaken woman outside the apartment. She told officers Leckenby had returned after she told him to leave earlier in the day and allegedly forced his way back inside by pushing through the locked door.
“He just broke down the door and attacked me,” the woman told officers in the video.
Moments later, officers approached the apartment door and announced themselves before the encounter quickly escalated.
“Let’s go. Let’s go,” an officer can be heard saying before shouting, “He’s got a knife!”
Body camera video shows officers backing away as one officer is stabbed during the confrontation. Officers repeatedly ordered Leckenby to drop the knife while attempting to create distance.
“Drop the knife,” officers shouted several times. “Drop it, or we’ll shoot.”
At one point in the video, Leckenby can be heard yelling, “Shoot me,” while still armed with the knife.
“You’re trigger happy, ain’t ya,” the suspect said.
After the suspect continued to refuse demands to drop the knife, officers then fired shots, striking Leckenby. Medics who had been staged nearby immediately entered to render aid, but Leckenby died at the scene, according to police.
The injured officer was transported to Parkview Regional Medical Center for treatment.
The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office said officers reasonably believed force was necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death to themselves and others. Both the Fort Wayne Police Department and Indiana State Police also determined the officers’ actions were consistent with department policy.
