INDIANAPOLIS — We can now put a name and face to the IMPD officer who was shot while responding to a shots fired call last week.
The department celebrated his release from the hospital Thursday as he continues to recover from injuries to his abdomen and arm. Greeted with smiles by a supportive medical team, 8-year veteran Officer Stephen Rzyski emerged from his room at Eskenazi’s level I trauma center, and he didn’t look back.
Video released by IMPD showed the emotional moments between Rzyski, his family and colleagues, and the applause that erupted as he made his way down a hall filled with fellow officers.
Until now, his identity was kept from the public, described as being in “good spirits” even after facing gunfire on the job last Friday.
“Can you mark me 10-8 please?” Rzyski can be heard saying, with a radio in hand, in footage shared by IMPD.
10-8 is police code for “in service,” or in other words, available for assignment.
“Hey buddy, happy you’re okay,” one officer said with a hug.
“Thank you, sir,” Rzyski responded.
A much different scene at the hospital Thursday than the one that put him there Friday night. Though detectives have yet to identify who pulled the trigger, two men were arrested a few hours after the shooting, suspected of leading police who were investigating it on a high-speed chase. IMPD has not officially connected either of them to the shooting.
“Anytime a law enforcement officer is attacked in our city or anywhere else, it’s not just an attack on that individual, or this police officer or the profession,” IMPD Chief Chris Bailey said during a media briefing Saturday morning. “It’s an attack on our community.”
From leaving in an ambulance that night to being escorted by his friends on Thursday, Rzyski’s road to recovery has so far been winding, but thankfully, has led him home.
“So incredibly grateful that Officer Rzyski is walking out of the hospital on his own, surrounded by his sisters and brothers!” Chief Bailey said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “A special thank you to the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who took great care of our cop!”
20-year-old Antione Jones faces charges of reckless driving and resisting law enforcement for his alleged role in the chase. According to online court records, his trial is set to start next month. 21-year-old Jeffrey Bowling is also facing a charge of resisting police and unlawful entry. Bowling is out on bond awaiting a hearing in two weeks.
