Indiana State Police are investigating the March 9 shooting. According to an ISP press release, Jeffersonville police officers responded to a call about a man with a gun at an apartment complex on East Eighth Street at about 7 p.m.
When they arrived, police encountered 44-year-old Robert William Atkins. ISP said in a previous press release that Atkins fired a pistol into the air before aiming it at officers.
Jeffersonville Police Maj. Isaac Parker said the department believes three officers fired at Atkins. He was given emergency aid and taken to University of Louisville Hospital, where he died from his injuries Sunday afternoon.
The five officers who responded to the scene are on paid administrative leave, according to Jeffersonville Police Chief Kenny Kavanaugh.
Parker said the department, which is conducting its own internal investigation, believes the officers were justified in the shooting.
“We fully support our officers,” he said. “We believe the act of criminal recklessness with a handgun caused the officer-involved shooting.”
No officers were injured.
Parker said police also interacted with Atkins the previous day, in a vehicle in a church parking lot in Jeffersonville. Following that encounter, he was taken to the hospital for a voluntary mental health evaluation.
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