INDIANAPOLIS — One Indianapolis firefighter was injured Saturday afternoon in an altercation at an IFD station on the city’s near east side that resulted in one man being taken into custody.
The firefighter was returning shortly before 1 p.m. to Station 11, located at 1715 E. Washington St., and was backing his vehicle onto the approach when the incident occurred, IFD said. A woman, described as being in distress, passed by the firefighter and yelled that a man was chasing her.
As the firefighter was stepping out of his vehicle, he said he saw a man running toward the station. As the man approached, the firefighter stepped in front of him and told him to stop.
The man then allegedly became aggressive with the firefighter, shoving him up against the vehicle and injuring him. The man then ran into the station’s bay, where he grabbed the woman.
Members of the engine crew, who were in the kitchen cleaning up from lunch, said they overheard the commotion and went to investigate. Once in the bay, they saw the man detaining the woman with a knife, shown below, clearly visible in his hand.
The crew called 911 for police assistance. However, they said once the man saw them he turned his attention toward the firefighters and became verbally and physically aggressive with them.
The firefighters said they feared for their own safety and began to restrain the man, disarming him until Indianapolis police arrived. After the man was restrained, crew members said they checked him for injuries.
Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department soon arrived on scene and took the man into custody, IFD said.
The woman involved in the situation was unharmed, IFD said, and both the man and the injured firefighter were taken to local hospitals for treatment. The firefighter was checked and released with slight injuries and later sent home for the remainder of his 24 hour shift. No other firefighters were injured.
According to IFD, the crew is still processing the troubling event and will not be speaking further on the incident. As of 4:30 p.m. Saturday, no further information has been provided by IMPD regarding the man in custody.