Editor’s Note: Every officer prepares to “expect” the unexpected, but as has been addressed thousands of times in the Street Survival Seminar, the “ambush” style attack can be the most difficult to prevent. In the case below, at least one officer was able to return fire on this attacker. Police1 columnist and Street Survival instructor Betsy Brantner Smith says in one of her articles: “When you’re in uniform, you’re a target, so stay alert and be prepared to take action.” John Farnam, president of Defense Training International, adds in another Police1 article that “The best anti-ambush tactic is avoidance. With good intelligence or sharp observation and aggressive counter-measures, many ambushes can be thwarted before they happen, or frustrated before they achieve critical mass.” Be safe.
By Malcolm C. Knox
Associated Press
UPDATE: JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — Police arrested two suspects Friday in the ambush shootings of two officers at a southern Indiana motel as authorities pursued a third in neighboring Kentucky.
Vincent Windell Jr., 22, was arrested in New Albany, and Kyle Bieber, 19, was arrested in neighboring Clarksville, Jeffersonville police Detective Todd Hollis said.
The two men acknowledged being in the motel room when Jeffersonville Cpl. Dan Lawhorn and Patrolman Keith Broady were shot Thursday evening, Hollis said. He said investigators were seeking a motive for the ambush.
Police also were seeking Robert Datillo, Bieber’s 37-year-old uncle, in connection with the shootings.
Police in Louisville, Ky., said Friday that a SWAT team and hostage negotiators were investigating a vehicle possibly linked to the shootings that was found at a residence there.
Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said officials from the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration were also at the scene.
The two officers shot at the motel were in stable condition Friday at a Louisville hospital, where both underwent surgery late Thursday.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin said they were shot at the motel after going there to investigate reports of illegal drug activity. Drugs and two pipe bombs were found in the room, and the devices were safely detonated, Hollis said.
Hollis said at least seven shots were fired at the officers and that Broady fired twice in return. Neither Windell nor Bieber was hit, he said.
----------
From earlier article: The Jeffersonville officers were approaching a room in the motel off Interstate 65 Thursday evening to investigate suspicious activity, when the suspects started shooting, said Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin. At least one officer returned fire, but it was unclear whether he hit anyone.
Cpl. Dan Lawhorn and Patrolman Keith Broady were able to get back to their vehicles and report the shooting, said Jeffersonville Detective Todd. Both underwent surgery at University Hospital in nearby Louisville, Ky., and were listed in critical condition early Friday, a hospital spokesman said.
Broady, 32, was shot in the chest in an area not protected by his bulletproof vest, while Lawhorn, 39, was shot in the right leg, Hollis said.
Police identified the suspects as 22-year-old Vincent D. Windell Jr., who has an address in New Albany, Ind., and 37-year-old Robert Datillo of Jeffersonville. Authorities were searching for the men in Indiana and Kentucky.
Hollis said police found drugs in the second-floor room.
“This man fired on two police officers ... so he may be at a place or state of mind where he has nothing to lose,” Hollis said.
A witness told WHAS-TV in Louisville he saw one of the suspects standing in the middle of the road after the shooting.
“He was screaming and hollering and yelling, he said he shot a cop, and kicked at the car when we drove by,” said Terry French.
About 70 people stood vigil at the hospital early Friday, including chaplains and widows of slain police officers.
Lawhorn has been on the Jeffersonville force for 11 years and Broady, 4 1/2, Hollis said.
“You never want to think this could happen,” said Jeffersonville Police Col. Timothy S. Deeringer. “You know it can. You know the reality’s there. It does happen and you never know when it’s going to strike.”