Prosecutor: 2 officers justified for firing during shootout

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Two police officers won’t face criminal charges for firing on a man who authorities say shot and killed a western Indiana police officer during an exchange of gunfire.

Vigo (VEE’-goh) County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said Tuesday that Terre Haute Police Officers J.T. Pearce and Brian Bourbeau were justified when they opened fire during the May 4 shootout that killed Officer Rob Pitts.

Modesitt says Pearce and Bourbeau acted in self-defence in response to gunshots fired by 21-year-old Christopher Wolfe, who police say fatally shot Pitts.

The Tribune-Star reports that Wolfe died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Modesitt says an additional injury to Wolfe’s head suggests he may have been grazed by a gunshot or injured by a bullet fragment during the exchange of gunfire.

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Information from: Tribune-Star, http://www.tribstar.com