CPD investigating shooting on Gateway Blvd-see below for original story and update

CPD officer wounded and male subject dead in exchange of gunfire outside Hilton Garden Inn

A Chesterton Police Officer transported to an Illinois hospital is expected to make a full recovery after being wounded in an exchange of gunfire outside the Hilton Garden Inn this morning, Wednesday, June 18.

A white male subject—not yet identified—was pronounced deceased at the scene, at the intersection of Gateway Blvd. and Matson Drive.

At CPD Chief Tim Richardson’s request, the Indiana State Police is directing the investigation of the shooting, but as ISP Sgt. Glen Fifield made clear at a press conference just before noon, detectives are only just beginning to put the pieces together.

“You folks are going to have a lot of questions,” Fifield told the reporters. “We do too. Our investigators have the same questions. So there are a lot of things we won’t be able to answer this morning.”

“I have as many questions as you all have, as the Indiana State Police has,” Richardson added. “It was a rapidly evolving situation at the hotel this morning.”

What is known is that, at approximately 8 a.m. two CPD officers responded to the Hilton Garden Inn following a report of a suspicious person on or near the premises. The exchange of gunfire then ensued.

The officer wounded in the shooting is a five-year veteran of the CPD, while the second officer has 25 years of service with the department. Both will be placed on paid administrative leave and neither will be identified at this time, Richardson said. “We are not naming the officer right now. This is typical. That will probably come out next week.”

Both Richardson and Fifield declined to say to which hospital the wounded officer had been transported and asked reporters to respect his privacy. “We won’t interview the officers for several sleep cycles,” Fifield noted. “That’s just standard practice in officer-involved shootings.”

At present, Fifield was unable to identify the deceased. “That will be part of the investigation, to see where he came from, whether he was staying there, if he’s a local resident,” Fifield said. “I don’t know. I do not know who he is, right now, in talking to you right know. All I know is that he’s a white male and he’s now deceased. Where he’s from, where he was staying, I don’t know. I can confirm it was the hotel who called the Chesterton Police Department this morning about the suspicious nature of his being there.”

Porter County Coroner Cyndi Dykes, for her part, released the following statement at 12:57 p.m. today: “There are a lot of unknowns at the moment. We are still trying to identify the decedent and do not have any information to release at this time. Autopsy and toxicology are pending.”

Fifield was specifically unable to say who fired the first shot and how many rounds were discharged but did state that a weapon was recovered at the scene. Richardson was unwilling at this stage of the investigation to discuss the nature of the officer’s wounds, other than to say that his “prognosis is good.” Richardson did ask the public to refrain from posting to social media either speculation about the incident or images which may have been photographed at the scene.

At such time as the ISP completes its investigation, it will release a full report to Richardson and to the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

“Our department stands united in our commitment to protecting our community,” Richardson said. “What often goes unseen is our officers’ putting their lives on the line for our community and two of our officers did just that this morning. I want to thank the Chesterton community for their continued support. I will also ask for your patience because this is going to take a week or two for all the events that transpired this morning to play out and I entrust the Indiana State Police to do that for us.”

“I want to thank all the brave officers who came to our aid this morning from various departments,” Richardson emphasized, including the Porter, Burns Harbor, Portage, Valparaiso, and Ogden Dunes PDs; the Porter County Sheriff’s Police; and the ISP.

“As I said earlier, this department’s primary concern is for this officer who was injured today,” Richardson said. “I ask for prayers and support from the community for his full recovery. And while we’re talking about these officers, I want to comment on their bravery. It’s not every day you come to work and get involved in an officer-involved shooting. The bravery of these officers in protecting our community, the fine men and women of the Chesterton Police Department, I’m so proud of them right now.”

As of 1 p.m. Gateway Blvd. was open again to traffic.