More assaults against police

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - A Putnam County man is shot to death after reportedly attacking a police officer.

Sunday night, police responded to a call in Reelsville, Indiana of a man trying to harm himself.

When they arrived, they found 38-year-old William Williams locked inside a bathroom.

Authorities said when officers finally unlocked the door, they say Williams attacked them with two knives.

They say he pinned an officer down, and that's when police opened fire, killing him.

An autopsy found that Williams had been shot four times, and Putnam County Coroner Thomas Miller ruled that Williams had died of two shots to the upper torso.

Authorities have not released the total number of shots fired, but an Indiana State Police press release described the number of shots as "minimal."

Two officers also fired tasers at Williams, authorities reported.

Authorities have also identified the officers who fired at Williams as Indiana State Trooper Brian Thomas, Indiana Conservation Officer Patrick Labhart and Cloverdale Police Officer Charles Hallam.

Sunday night's incident was the second police-related shooting in the last month in the Wabash Valley.

Last month, police shot and killed 29-year-old James Michael Mundy of West Terre Haute when he tried to run over an officer with his car.

Police say the use of deadly force in our is is rare locally.

However, police say when they get called out, they never know what's going to happen.

That's why they train throughout the year for situations like the one that took place Sunday night.

"We have many tools that we use. We have hand to hand training, we have chemical mace training, we have taser training. We have many steps that we can use and the last one of those being deadly force," Indiana State Police Information Officer Sergeant Joe Watts said.

Officers say domestic disputes can be the most dangerous situations they face because they can turn volatile at any moment.

"But when you mix a domestic situation with a suicidal person, if a person's willing to commit suicide or willing to harm themselves, then by all accounts, they're willing to harm a private citizen or police officer," Watt said.

Watts says, although it was an unfortunate circumstance, officers had no choice.

He says in situations like these, the person doing the attacking is ultimately responsible because they can stop at any time.