Man rams into Carmel police SUV, gets shot

The REPORTER & WISH-TV
wishtv.com

A police shooting happened Sunday night on the third floor at Avant residential parking in Carmel.

The person shot, later identified as Daniel Castillo, 23, New Mexico, received injuries not believed to be life-threatening. He was taken to a hospital and then arrested by Indiana State Police Detectives upon his release Monday afternoon.

The officer who fired a gun, who has not been identified, was placed on administrative leave.

Avant resident Hunter Bagwell lives on the third floor and he described that night.

“About 8 o’ clock, a car alarm went off for a good 5 to 10 minutes, and we couldn’t figure out why, and then, shortly after, we saw multiple police officers arrive,” Bagwell said.

Bagwell says he didn’t hear the gunshots or the suspect’s vehicle ramming into a police car.

Indiana State Police said Carmel officers went to the garage on Old Meridian Street after getting a call about a stalker. They quickly found the suspect, who refused to get out of his car. He instead drove his blue Dodge Charger car into a police SUV. That’s when one officer fired shots through the windshield of the man’s car.

No officers were inside the SUV.

Police says the man continued to spin his tires while hitting the police car. Officers later broke out a window of the Charger to pull the man out.

“No officer wants to discharge their firearm in the line of duty or get in that situation,” said Sgt. John Perrine of Indiana State Police.

Police says officers administered medical aid to Castillo. No police officers were seriously injured.

The parking garage is for residents, but, Bagwell says, it was reported broken last week and allowed anyone to have access to the parking lot. Despite the police shooting, he says, he still feels safe in the neighborhood and is happy that police responded quickly.

“Early reports kept saying police shooting, and I think one of the things missed is this is not situation where police went out and shot someone,” Bagwell said. “It was literarily an individual who rammed the car and put an officer at risk. There’s a lot of action to avoid this and deescalate that, and, unfortunately, put the officer’s life at risk and the officer’s response is appropriate.”

Castillo is incarcerated in the Hamilton County Jail and faces these preliminary charges:

• Attempted Aggravated Battery
• Resisting Law Enforcement
• Criminal Recklessness with a Deadly Weapon