Shots Fired At Officers

A Cromwell man fired about 70 shotgun rounds at police officers Thursday night, injuring Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department deputy Jeff Howie.

Robert James Louden, 41, of 9821 E. Rockabye Lane, Cromwell, was arrested without incident, though it took three hours of negotiation before he submitted to police.

According to Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine, officers were called to the Louden residence at 4:30 p.m. regarding a domestic disturbance.

Two deputies, Howie and Rick Shepherd, arrived and spoke with Louden's wife and child, who said they did not want to take any action regarding the altercation. The pair left the premises.

The officers knocked on the trailer door to speak with Louden, who was inside, but he refused to answer. Realizing he was not going to answer, the officers headed back to their squad cars to regroup. According to Rovenstine, they intended to try and contact Louden by telephone to obtain his statement.

As the two cars began backing out of the driveway, their vehicles were riddled by bullets, one shattering Howie's window and causing injury to his arm.

Howie and Shepherd responded by leaving their vehicles and taking cover behind the cars. The officers reportedly were unable to tell where the shots were coming from. An unnamed civilian also was pinned down with the officers.

Syracuse Police Department responded with backup immediately. As the SPD car pulled up, the vehicle was showered with gunfire from the tiny trailer window, from which Louden allegedly was shooting.

The officers pinned behind their cars reportedly radioed and told the Syracuse officer he was too close. The officer exited the vehicle just in time, as both side windows were shot from his car.

Reinforcements from eight agencies continued to arrive, along with the county SWAT team and a negotiation team headed by Chris McKeand. Nearby mobile homes were evacuated, though some onlookers decided to remain against police warnings.

With the teams and backup in place, the shooting stopped and McKeand began talking with Louden. According to Rovenstine, there was a plan in place to remove Louden from the residence, but McKeand built such a strong rapport with him it never was needed.

Three hours of negotiation ensued and finally Louden surrendered without incident. Three shotguns, a 12-gauge, 20-gauge and 410, were confiscated from the residence.

Rovenstine also said they found a large number of spent rounds.

Despite the gunfire directed at them, officers never fired back.

"Our officers resisted the temptation to fire back," Rovenstine said. "Their training and professionalism shone through."

Rovenstine commended all agencies involved and mentioned McKeand specifically as doing an outstanding job.

Louden is facing at least one preliminary charge of attempted murder and is being held without bond at Kosciusko County Jail. Detectives were meeting with the prosecutor at press time to determine how many charges will be brought. Police expect Louden to have an initial hearing today.

According to detectives, Louden has no violent crime record in the county, but has been arrested for cocaine possession twice.

Agencies assisting were Noble and Elkhart county sheriff's departments; Syracuse, Warsaw and Cromwell police departments; and the Indiana State Police.