COLUMBUS — A 30-year-old Brown County man died last night when he was shot and killed after fleeing and firing on officers during a multi-agency pursuit in Bartholomew County.
Around 11:40 a.m. March 10, Brown County authorities contacted neighboring agencies and requested officers be on the lookout for Martin Louis Douglas Jr., 30, of northern Brown County.
Officers reported that Douglas was despondent and could be armed, according to an Indiana State Police news release. Douglas was reportedly driving his maroon Ford pickup east toward Bartholomew County and possibly intended to harm one or more acquaintances.
Brown County Sheriff Scott Southerland said last week that his department was first made aware of Douglas after receiving a request to do a welfare check on him at around 11:15 a.m. The caller reported Douglas may be suicidal.
While officers were on their way to do the check, dispatch received another call less than 10 minutes later, saying Douglas was driving south on State Road 135 North.
“We were looking for him and going through two different people before it got to our dispatch. We were not exactly sure where he was at and when because of that time delay,” Southerland said.
“We didn’t have the phone number for the initial caller, the first person. They were going through somebody else who was then calling us.”
By the time officers began searching the 135 North area, another call came in less than 10 minutes later saying Douglas was heading to Columbus.
“We had everyone out looking for him and we did not find him,” Southerland said.
“The next thing we heard he was eastbound on (State Road) 46. All of our people were up on 135, so we called Bartholomew County and passed the information onto them.”
At 11:33 a.m., dispatch told officers that a relative was driving behind Douglas and that the relative said he was driving 120 mph. When Douglas passed Nelson Ridge Road at 11:40 a.m. he was driving 90 mph, according to dispatch notes.
An officer with the Columbus Police Department soon spotted Douglas’ truck near County Road 450 South and County Road 300 West in Bartholomew County and attempted to stop the vehicle; however, Douglas refused to stop and fled, state police said.
Other officers soon joined in the pursuit, including troopers from the Indiana State Police Versailles Post and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. The pursuit continued on roads in southwest Bartholomew County and northern Jackson County, where Jackson County deputies also joined in the pursuit.
Douglas continued driving erratically and at high speeds and had successfully avoided tire deflation devices placed in an attempt to stop his truck. The pursuit continued toward County Road 300 West and State Road 58 south of Columbus, where the truck eventually struck a tire deflation device, state police said.
Douglas then stopped in the road and fired approximately 15 rounds from an AR-15-style rifle at pursuing officers. Officers returned fire.
Investigators believe at least three police vehicles were struck by rounds from Douglas’ weapon, including two Columbus Police Department vehicles and an Indiana State Police SUV, state police said.
Douglas then continued driving north and entered a cornfield near County Road 300 West and Deaver Road, stopping his truck several hundred feet off the road.
Officers surrounded the truck, and the Columbus Police Department SWAT team arrived a short time later. The South Zone Indiana State Police (ISP) SWAT team also responded as officers attempted to negotiate with Douglas.
At one point during the pursuit, Douglas went live on Facebook while driving. Sirens could be heard in the background.
“This is going to be the last video I will post and the last anybody is going to see me in person,” he said.
“I’ve asked for help from way too many people just to be given up on and left.”
Around 5:30 p.m., after an approximately five-hour standoff, Douglas exited his vehicle and picked up a second AR-15-style rifle from a box in the rear of his truck. ISP SWAT team members then fired and struck Douglas, state police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner’s office, and ISP Sellersburg Post detectives and crime scene technicians were called to investigate.
No officers were injured.
Douglas was a 2009 Brown County High School graduate.
The case remains under investigation as ISP detectives will conduct multiple interviews in the coming days and review any pertinent information and any possible video, the ISP reported.
The Indiana State Police received assistance from the Columbus Police Department, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and the Decatur County Coroner’s Office.
