UPDATE: Valpo, county cops justified in shooting death of 20-year-old gunman, prosecutor says (2024)

VALPARAISO — Valparaiso and Porter County police were justified last month in protecting themselves and the public when they shot to death 20-year-old Valparaiso resident Caden Mura during a public shootout, Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann said Friday morning.

"Were it not for the response of these well trained and courageous police officers, the outcome of this incident could have been much worse," Germann said in a prepared statement.

As a result, Germann said his office will take no action against the officers.

Germann said the officers responded April 25 to a report of a man flashing a gun at another person near the Taco Bell on Calumet Avenue in Valparaiso.

The suspect, later identified as Mura, was located by police in the nearby Fairgrounds Park, Germann said. As a uniformed officer approached, Mura reportedly fired three shots "directly at the officer."

"Multiple shots were fired during the incident by the suspect at five police officers, three from the Valparaiso Police Department and two from the Porter County Sheriff's Department," Germann said.

"All the officers returned fire ultimately resulting in the death of ... Caden Mura," he said.

"During what can only be described as a shootout, five police officers and numerous members of the community were at risk for serious injury and even death," Germann said.

Indiana State Police investigated the shooting because of the local officers involved and concluded that Mura initiated the gun fight before fleeing on foot to the porch of a local home where he again raised his gun before being fatally shot.

All the involved officers had been placed on paid administrative leave until the investigation is complete and results reviewed by the Porter County prosecutor's office.

Valparaiso Police Chief Andrew McIntyre released a prepared statement Friday saying, "I appreciate the thorough, yet timely, investigation completed by the Indiana State Police, and I fully support Prosecutor Gary Germann’s decision to take no further action regarding the officer involved shooting on April 25, 2024."

"Throughout this process, our thoughts and prayers have gone out to all those affected by the events of that day," he said. "I am grateful for the quick, heroic efforts of all the first responders on scene that day, and I am appreciative that no matter which agency they represented, they came together as one."

McIntyre said all of his officers involved have been released from administrative leave.

Porter County Sheriff Jeff Balon said Friday in a prepared statement, "I commend the heroic actions displayed by the police officers of the Porter County Sheriff’s Office and the Valparaiso Police Department. Their willingness to put themselves in harm’s way to protect our citizens and to stop further potential danger in our community is a testament to who they are as human beings."

"I cannot express in words how proud I am of every police officer involved in this tragic event," he said. "They acted professionally and within department policies. Officer involved shootings are always taken seriously and are never easy, I would like to thank the vast majority of citizens who were patient during the investigative process."

Records show Mura had a lengthy criminal history, including pleading guilty last fall to a charge of resisting law enforcement.

Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton, D-2nd, recently issued an apology after causing a stir with a comment on social media that charcterized the incident as "recklessly inaccurate gunshots being fired by a panicked boy/young man while he is running away from gunshots being fired from the guns of a team of skilled marksmen that were targeting him."

An online petition calling for Cotton to resign from the council has generated hundreds of signatures.