A 30-year-old man shot by a volunteer reserve deputy in Broad Ripple last month after reportedly ramming his car into police vehicles had previously made suicide by cop threats, records show.
Prosecutors charged William Manery with resisting law enforcement and criminal mischief damage in Marion Superior Court on Thursday — just under a month after he was shot by Lt. Jason Lee, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy, in the 6300 block of Westfield Boulevard on April 10. He was also charged with possession of paraphernalia.
Manery was shot in his white Jeep Cherokee about 5:30 p.m. after Marion County deputies were alerted to his location by Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee. The man reportedly had open warrants for flight to avoid and vehicular aggravated assault out of Tennessee and a stolen vehicle warrant out of South Carolina.
Police said preliminary information indicated Manery “was possibly armed and dangerous.” Investigators in a probable cause affidavit noted the warrants indicated Manery was “armed and making suicide by cop threats.”
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Deputies found Manery asleep in his Jeep at the scene just north of Broad Ripple Avenue and “began yelling verbal commands” to Manery, investigators said. When Manery would not unlock his doors or show his hands, deputies banged on the car windows.
Manery then turned the car on and reversed it “aggressively” into a marked police vehicle, according to investigators. He hit a curb and drove forward again, hitting a parked unmarked sheriff’s office vehicle, police said.
Lee, the reserve deputy who investigators say was closest to the vehicle, shot Manery through the driver’s side of the Jeep. Manery was taken to Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in serious but stable condition. He was later reported to be in good condition.
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Investigators noted no guns were found in Manery’s vehicle but noted they did find what they suspected to be crystal methamphetamine.
In an interview with detectives from the hospital, Manery reportedly said “he did not remember much of the incident because he was high on crystal meth,” investigators said in the affidavit.
He said he could not see the deputies’ uniforms and was scared “and thought they were there to hurt him.” He told detectives he remembered trying to leave and hitting vehicles.
Deputies at the scene did not have body-worn cameras or in-car dash cameras, according to police. Responding IMPD officers at the scene activated their body-worn cameras as they arrived.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office officials said Lee has been a volunteer reserve deputy for four years. He joined the agency’s Reserve Division in April 2017 and has donated “hundreds of hours of time” annually to the sheriff’s office, they noted.
Lee was placed on administrative leave following the shooting, a standard procedure in these incidents. IMPD is investigating the shooting, and the sheriff’s office is conducting an internal investigation.
Two police vehicles were damaged during the incident: a white 2012 Dodge Charger, with damage estimated at $2,187; and a black 2008 Ford Police Interceptor, with damage estimated at $1,816, accoding to investigators.
Manery is being held in Marion County Jail, records show.
IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson contributed to this report.
Contact Lawrence Andrea at 317-775-4313 or landrea@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @lawrencegandrea.
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