Residents describe chaos during IMPD gunbattle: 'They're shooting up the neighborhood'

On this sunny Wednesday, less than 48 hours after a chaotic gunbattle between police and an armed man shook the one-story houses that line both sides of the 200 block of South Rural Street, a quiet is interrupted only by the buzzing engines of lawn mowers and a child laughing while riding her bicycle.

The police tape is gone. The shell casings have been removed. Blood from the suspect, 32-year-old Jeff Cornell Tyson, has been washed away.

But after police fired 200 rounds over four intense minutes, some signs of the shootout remain. There are the eight holes that pierced a dark-green electrical box; the seven holes marring the front of a cream-colored house.

The bullet that hit the shingles of 52-year-old Lillian Amaya's shed, which she quickly jumped behind as the firefight broke out, may be the most overt symbol of how an idyllic summer evening on this Indianapolis block could suddenly transform into the dramatic climax of a violent, citywide police pursuit.

"I'm ducking and dodging, everything. I'm scared to death," said Amaya, who was grilling hamburgers outside with her husband while her 9-year-old grandson watched television inside the home. "It sounded worse than the Fourth of July finale."

16 officers fired 200 rounds in gunbattle with shooting suspect

Police say Tyson fled a traffic stop at a gas station at 71st Street and Georgetown Road on Monday night, firing at officers from his car while leading them on a 25-minute chase. Two officers were injured, including one who was shot in the ankle and later released from the hospital. Tyson died.

While outside, Amaya said she heard sirens from more than a dozen police vehicles blare through the streets. For a moment, she thought the chase was just passing through the area. Then the bullets began flying.

On the other side of Newton Avenue at a house on Oxford Street, Marttina Ward could hardly tell what was going on amid the confusion. As soon as the 32-year-old woman heard the gunshots and saw the firearm-toting police officers running down her street, her thoughts immediately jumped to how she could keep her three children safe.

"I was freaking out, like really bad," said Ward, who shook as she recounted her experience Wednesday. "All I can do is yell at my kids. I'm like: Get down! Get down! Go hide! Get down! They're shooting up the neighborhood!'"

Some of those who spoke with IndyStar said despite the mayhem, they believed police likely did what was necessary to stop the suspect. Others, however, questioned whether using 200 rounds was necessary.

"I'm still lost for words," said Cherrell Pittman, 30, an ex-girlfriend of Tyson's who does not live in the neighborhood, but who stopped by a memorial on Newton Avenue to take photographs.

Pittman said she dated Tyson for about four years during her teens, and was still friendly with him and had spoken with Tyson in June. "It shouldn't have taken 200 shots."

Of the 40 officers who responded to the scene, only 16 fired their weapons, said IMPD Maj. Richard Riddle.

"Each officer has to make an independent judgment based upon what they're observing, and whether or not they fear their lives are in jeopardy, another police officer's life is in jeopardy, or a third party's life is in jeopardy," Riddle said. "And then they make that independent determination to pull the trigger."

Riddle said police take as much care as possible to ensure they are preventing unnecessary injury, adding that officers often move position or decide not to fire if the backdrop is unsafe — like if an innocent person could be harmed.

For Central Indiana cops, grappling with new realities of attacks

In the midst of a chaotic and dangerous incident, such as Monday night’s gunbattle, police officers will primarily be concerned with stopping the perceived threat and providing coverage to officers, said Jim Bueermann, a retired California police chief who now runs the Washington, D.C.-based Police Foundation.

But, he said, in a situation with rapid exchanges of gunfire, likely not all bullets will go where they were intended.

“Most offenders are not very good shots and don’t care where the bullets are going,” he said. “Police are better shots and do care, but under the best of circumstances, all bullets don’t go where they were aiming.”

The first order of business after a neighborhood falls under a hail of gunfire, Bueermann said, would be to determine whether any innocent bystanders sustained injuries. Then, he said, the department should care for the trauma felt by the neighborhood.

“A thoughtful police department after an incident like this would send a team of community relations people around, go door to door and explain what they can about the incident,” Bueermann said.

They should ask neighborhood residents whether anyone was harmed, or if any property was damaged by gunfire, and help them find recourse if damage appeared to stem from officers’ bullets, he said.

“There’s a lingering, long-term effect that has to do with the relationship between the community and police,” he said.

Both Amaya and Ward said officers visited them after the shooting concluded to make sure they were not injured.

Still, Ward said, she now jumps at every unexpected sound. She said she would like to see police acknowledge more openly the fears that people in her neighborhood experienced that night.

Riddle said the city has a victims' assistance program available for people who witness such incidents.

"We try to do everything we can to follow up," he said. "There has to be some type of wraparound … to ensure that everybody's mental well-being is looked after."

Call IndyStar reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.

Call IndyStar reporter Sara Salinas at (317) 444-6157. Follow her on Twitter: @saracsalinas.

Call IndyStar reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter:@Mabuckley88.