Authorities have identified a man who was fatally shot by a police officer Wednesday night after allegedly swinging a knife at the officer inside a northwest Indiana home.
At 5:36 p.m., two Porter County officers responded to a call about a suicidal person inside a residence in the 700 block of McCool Road in South Haven, Indiana, according to a statement from Indiana State Police. They looked inside and called a third officer after seeing 46-year-old Kevin Grant Vawter, who was covered in blood.
Vawter, who lived in Valparaiso, Indiana, tried to rush the officers after they forced entry, causing one of the officers to taser him, police said. Another officer walked over to handcuff him, but he got up and lunged at the officer with a knife.
One of the officers then shot Vawter, police said. Authorities began performing first aid measures before Vawter was taken to Porter Regional Hospital in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he died. He lived in Valparaiso.
The Porter County coroner’s office was expected to perform an autopsy on Vawter on Thursday, police said.
The officers were initially dispatched to the home after a family member claiming to have been beaten by Vawter called 911, according to police.
The officer who shot Vawter has been placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with sheriff’s office policies, police and the sheriff’s office said. The two other officers have returned to normal police duties.
All three officers at the scene were wearing body cameras and the video from those cameras is being reviewed by state police, authorities said. The investigation is ongoing and will be turned over to the Porter County prosecutor’s office for review when it’s completed.
