A 33-year-old Beech Grove police officer was shot and killed on Monday in Marion County, while another officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to the department’s chief.
The statement came Monday night, as hundreds of Indianapolis police officers searched for Kenneth Terrell Johnson, who, according to an Indiana State Police spokeswoman, opened fire on the two policemen as they responded to a disturbance in an apartment.
About an hour after Officer Brian Elliott’s death was announced, a state police spokesman said on social media that the suspect had been detained by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s special weapons and tactics unit. Sgt. John Perrine, the spokesman, later stated at an impromptu news conference just after 11 p.m. that a community member discovered Johnson hiding in a shared laundry area of an apartment building, a few hundred yards from where the policemen were shot, and informed authorities.
Authorities have not revealed where Johnson, 47, is from. Perrine said he wasn’t sure if police had interacted with Johnson earlier Monday.
Elliott was sworn in on September 3, 2024. Beech Grove Police Chief Michael Maurice said of Elliott at an impromptu news conference outside Eskenazi Hospital just before 9:30 p.m.: “He has left a lasting impression and legacy not only on the department but also on the city.”
“This is a devastating loss for our department and city,” the chief said.
Elliott is survived by his wife and parents.
Elliott, according to his biography posted following his swearing-in ceremony, graduated from Beech Grove High School and got a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis. Elliott spent nearly four years with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office before joining the Beech Grove department. Elliott was an assistant squad commander at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, an honor graduate, and the winner of the Glenda Mercer Memorial Award for outstanding academic success.
The Beech Grove chief did not reveal the identity of the injured officer, who was stated to be stable.
Beech Grove is a city in Marion County with 14,500 residents and is surrounded by Indianapolis. Just after 5:35 p.m. On Monday, the Beech Grove Police Department received a complaint about a disturbance in the 100 block of Diplomat Court. The Beech Meadow apartments are located north of Beech Grove High School. Approximately ten minutes later, the Beech Grove Fire Department’s medics were dispatched to the same residence on a complaint of an unsafe gunshot scene.
Following the cops’ shooting on Presidents Day, certain unusual incidents occurred.
IMPD issued a shelter-in-place order for much of Beech Grove while officers looked for the offender, who was alleged to be armed and sought. The shelter-in-place directive lasted approximately 4 1/2 hours.
Prior to Johnson’s arrest, state police issued a Blue Alert. A Blue Alert, as defined by state law, sends information about a suspect to broadcasters and billboard operators if a law enforcement officer is murdered, gravely injured, or goes missing while on duty. The last Blue Alert in Indiana was issued for Austin Schepers on January 3, 2025. He was wanted for the shooting of an Orange County deputy in West Baden. Schepers was apprehended and slain the following day during a standoff with law officers in Louisville, Kentucky.
After the police were shot, the suspect was reportedly seen near Beech Grove High School, prompting a large search. Shortly before 9 p.m., Perrine posted on social media that law enforcement had entirely emptied the school and that no pupils remained inside or on the grounds.
Also, just after 6 p.m., IMPD shuttered a half-mile stretch of Emerson Avenue, from Churchman Avenue to I-465, while the suspect was being sought.
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