A longtime Indiana police deputy died Monday after being assaulted during an inmate escape attempt, police say.
The inmate suspect attacked John Durm, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy of 38 years, inside a jail sally port stole and stole the transport vehicle, according to police. Durm died in a hospital shortly after the attack and his cause of death has not been released.
Law enforcement officials said Durm was returning the attacker to the jail Monday morning after a hospital visit when the violent escape attempt unfolded. The suspect was alone in the van when he drove it through the gates of the facility before crashing into a telephone pole just outside the parking lot.
Sheriff’s deputies at the scene apprehended the attacker, who was minorly injured and taken to a hospital. Chris Bailey, assistant chief of police for Indianapolis, said the attack appeared to be an “intentional act of homicide.”
The suspect in Durm’s killing has been identified as 34-year-old Orlando Mitchell. Police said Mitchell will be arrested on a preliminary murder charge after he is released from the hospital. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will determine final charges.
Mitchell is facing another murder charge in the fatal shooting of a woman last year, who died while dropping her kids off at daycare on the west side of Indianapolis. According to court records, investigators found Mitchell several hours after the shooting when a 911 caller reported that a man at a bus stop said he killed his girlfriend at the same address of the daycare.
When they tracked Mitchell to the area, police said he was holding a rifle and did not drop the weapon. Two officers fired and struck Mitchell, who was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal said Durm’s son is in training to work for the sheriff’s office. Durm’s wife also works for the sheriff’s office in its medical office.
“John was just a good guy, he really was,” a tearful Forestal said.
A memorial for Durm has been set up at the Marion County’s Community Justice Campus, where the country’s adult detention center, sheriff’s office and courthouse are located.
‘A good guy’:John Durm, sheriff’s deputy killed in escape attempt, honored at Community Justice Center
A recreation of the deputy’s wagon has been set up in the parking lot area and members of the community are welcome to visit, according to the sheriff’s office.
