New charges against Indiana officer in detective’s shooting

An Indianapolis police officer facing attempted murder and other charges for allegedly shooting a fellow officer was suicidal afterward and told a witness, "I shot my friend," an affidavit released Thursday shows.

But that affidavit also suggests that Officer Adrian Aurs didn't initially recognize the Indianapolis police detective he allegedly shot.

The detective was interviewing Aurs' wife on July 29 about an alleged domestic violence incident involving the couple when Aurs forced his way through the apartment's patio doors, gun in hand, according to the amended probable cause affidavit filed by prosecutors.

"What are you laughing at with another man in your apartment!" Aurs yelled before aiming his gun at Sgt. Robert Pearsey and opening fire, according to the affidavit.

Pearsey, who fired once at Aurs and missed him, suffered non-life-threatening wounds when he was struck in the right side and arm. Aurs fired at least three rounds at the detective, the affidavit states.

Aurs, 42, was arrested in Cincinnati hours after the shooting and was returned to Indiana on Tuesday. He has been suspended without pay, and Indianapolis police are seeking his termination from the department.

Aurs, a 17-year department veteran, was led by deputies into a Marion County courtroom Thursday, wearing handcuffs and leg restraints, for a brief initial hearing on four felony charges. His defense attorney, James Voyles, entered a not guilty plea on his client's behalf before a magistrate rejected Voyles' request to lower Aurs' $200,000 surety bond.

Voyles declined to comment following the hearing, as did prosecutors.

Aurs was charged Saturday with attempted murder in Pearsey's shooting. Prosecutors charged him Wednesday with one count of residential entry, alleging he forced his way into his wife's apartment.

He also was charged with two counts of pointing a firearm for allegedly threatening his wife and a neighbor with his gun after Pearsey's shooting.

According to the affidavit, Aurs told a Cincinnati police officer after his arrest that he had "shot someone," and that "I lost it, I just snapped."

Immediately after he allegedly shot Pearsey, who was seated on a couch in the apartment with the couple's two young children in adjacent rooms, Aurs' wife followed him outside, fearing he would kill himself, the affidavit states.

Aurs argued with a neighbor, telling him, "I shot my friend," according to the affidavit. He pointed a gun at the man before aiming it at his own head and telling the neighbor he wanted to kill himself, the affidavit said.

The man urged Aurs not to shoot himself and moments later the officer left the scene in his truck.

In the domestic violence incident reported about two hours before Pearsey was shot, Aurs allegedly knocked on the door of the apartment where his wife had moved about seven months earlier after they had separated. He demanded to see their children and when she refused, he forced his way inside, knocked her cellphone from her hand, and refused to leave, the affidavit states.

Aurs' wife was not injured but told officers her estranged husband of nine years had previously threatened to kill himself in front of her and their children, ages 8 and 2. The domestic violence allegations remain under investigation, prosecutors said.