Prosecutors drop death penalty in Indiana officer’s killing

By CASEY SMITH
Associated Press/Report for America

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors are no longer seeking the death penalty for the man charged in the fatal shooting of a police officer who had come to his aid after the man’s car overturned in a crash in Indianapolis four years ago. Marion Superior Judge Mark Stoner last week granted a jury trial waiver requested by Jason D. Brown, who is charged in the 2017 fatal shooting of Southport police Lt. Aaron Allan. The Marion County prosecutor’s office agreed to drop its death penalty request in exchange for the verdict being rendered by a judge instead of a jury. Defense attorney Denise Turner told WIBC radio that both sides are ready for the case to be resolved. The trial is set to start in February.