Hancock County Prosecutor finds Greenfield police shooting justified

GREENFIELD, Ind. — The Hancock County Prosecutor’s Office has announced that no criminal charges have been filed following an investigation into a police shooting that left a Greenfield man dead in July.

According to previous reports, officers with the Greenfield Police Department initially responded to a domestic incident at a home on Sedgewick Lane on July 7 around 9:25 p.m.

While police were en route, dispatch informed them that a female and children had locked themselves into a bedroom and that a battery had reportedly taken place. The woman reported being fearful of the suspect if he knew she called the police to the residence. Law enforcement was also advised that weapons were inside the residence.

Officers arrived and met with 54-year-old Ted Feasel, who ISP said answered the door before quickly closing it. Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton said Feasel then opened a window and told the responding officers, “Anything you need to do, you can do from here.”

Feasel reportedly refused to open the door despite being asked multiple times by officers to do so.

Eaton explained that officers had an “exigent circumstance” to force entry into the residence, meaning they were within legal bounds to conduct a search without a warrant when “public safety is or could be at stake” and that officers were compelled to “enter the residence to stop what was believed to be an ongoing, violent crime.”

Three officers then forced their way inside the residence, where they observed Feasel reportedly pointing a firearm directly at them while standing in what Eaton referred to as a “clear firing stance.”

Three officers subsequently opened fire, striking Feasel. The officers who discharged their department-issued weapons immediately provided medical aid to Feasel as they waited for emergency medical personnel to arrive.

Indiana State Police, which led an investigation into the deadly police shooting, confirmed Feasel died shortly after he was transported to an area hospital. No officers or uninvolved citizens were injured.

The three officers who fired their weapons were placed on administrative leave in conjunction with standard department protocol following any police shooting.

Eaton said the total amount of time between the first knock on the door and the first gunshot being fired was less than one minute and five seconds.

“Feasel pointed a large caliber handgun at law enforcement officers as they stood in the doorway, a few feet away from him, as they attempted to make a legally justified entry into the house,” Eaton said. “This clearly gave officers a reason to believe Feasel was going to imminently use unlawful force that could cause serious bodily injury or death to them. The subsequent shooting of Feasel by law enforcement is clearly justified, no criminal charges will be filed on the law enforcement officers involved in this incident.”