A western Indiana police officer who was killed during a shootout with a homicide suspect is being honored as a hero whose death has left a gaping wound in the community.
Hundreds of police officers from around the country filed Wednesday into Indiana State University's basketball arena as the funeral began for 45-year-old Terre Haute Officer Robert Pitts. Officials say Pitts was fatally wounded Friday when he and other officers approached a 21-year-old suspect, who died of a gunshot wound after barricading himself inside an apartment.
Sen. Joe Donnelly told mourners that Pitts was one of Indiana's sons who gave everything he had and didn't flee from danger.
Pitts was a 16-year member of the Terre Haute Police Department following six years with the police force in the nearby city of Sullivan. He was the father of a daughter and two sons.