SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Police officers who won't face charges after prosecutors found that the shooting was justified.
The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office reviewed an investigation by county police into Rodney Ross' fatal Oct. 13 shooting and determined that it was a justifiable homicide.
Ross, 30, was fatally shot after he shot at officers and fled a home as the officers were attempting to arrest him in South Bend on a warrant.
During that shootout, St. Joseph County Metro SWAT team member Joseph Kasznia was shot and a police dog was also wounded as officers exchanged gunfire with Ross.
Kasznia and county police Sgts. Matt Parmelee and Randy Rodriguez, also a SWAT member, returned fire. Ballistics testing determined that Rodriguez fired that shot that killed Ross, who was wanted out of Elkhart County for drug possession and having a firearm without a license.
Kasznia and the police dog, Luna, are still recovering from their gunshot wounds.
The 2-year-old Dutch shepherd trained for narcotics and searches had a bullet removed Tuesday from her hind right leg. The surgery was delayed because veterinarians wanted to give the wound times to heal before removing the bullet, the reported.
Parmelee, the dog’s handler, said Luna is a hero because her presence drew Ross' attention away from officers involved in the search, and may have kept other officers from being injured.
“She truly is the true hero that day,” he said. “A lot of attention was paid to her. She really took a lot of the attention away from the other officers.”
