Prosecutor: 2 Officers Justified For Firing During Shootout

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Two police officers won't face criminal charges for firing on a man who authorities say shot and killed a western Indiana police officer during an exchange of gunfire.

Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said Tuesday that Terre Haute Police Officers J.T. Pearce and Brian Bourbeau were justified when they opened fire during the May 4 shootout that killed Officer Rob Pitts.

Modesitt says Pearce and Bourbeau acted in self-defense in response to gunshots fired by 21-year-old Christopher Wolfe, who police say fatally shot Pitts.

The Tribune-Star reports that Wolfe died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Modesitt says an additional injury to Wolfe's head suggests he may have been grazed by a gunshot or injured by a bullet fragment during the exchange of gunfire.