HENRY COUNTY — He was a good guy when he wasn’t on drugs, his mother said.
Annette Dishman, Greenfield, was trying to keep her composure as she sat in a lawn chair at the entrance of her garage on a beautiful spring day, processing the death of her son.
Michael R. Gulley, 32, Greenfield, was shot and killed along Interstate 70 in the early-morning hours Tuesday, after he pulled a gun on a Henry County sheriff’s deputy, police say.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Gulley’s mother said her son knew he was going to fail a drug test, set for today, and couldn’t bear to go back to prison after being released last August following nine years of incarceration.
“To me, it was a suicide-by-cop shooting because he didn’t want to go back to prison, so this was his way out,” Dishman said. “He did his time, but could still not get over using drugs.”
According to Hancock County law enforcement records, Gulley had a criminal past of dealing drugs and theft dating as far back as 2007. He was on probation and was cited just last week for driving while suspended. He was facing a court hearing on that matter in mid-May.
Henry County Sheriff Rick McCorkle said dispatchers in Henry County received a call about a suspicious person walking along the interstate around 5:15 a.m. Tuesday morning.
A short time later, a Henry County deputy located the man, identified as Gulley, walking on the berm of I-70 westbound at the 125-mile marker, two miles east of the New Castle exit. The deputy, who has been on the force for several years, the sheriff said, responded and found Gulley in the median.
“It was a call for a suspicious person, and everything just went bad from there,” the sheriff said.
The deputy approached Gulley to see if he needed assistance. According to police, the deputy asked Gulley if he could help him or give him a ride off the interstate. As the two talked, Gulley pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the deputy, police said. Shots were fired, and Gulley was hit.
The deputy, who was not injured, administered first aid until paramedics arrived. Gulley was transported to Henry County Community Health Hospital in New Castle and was pronounced dead a short time later.
The deputy is doing OK for now, the sheriff said. He knows the coming days could be difficult for the officer when the reality of the shooting hits home. The deputy was not identified.
“When something like this sinks in, it can be tough, but we’ll be there for him,” the sheriff said.
I-70 westbound was closed between the Cambridge City and New Castle exits for several hours as investigators and crime scene technicians gathered evidence.
The car he was believed to be driving was located in the median of I-70 westbound around the 127-mile marker, two miles east of where the incident occurred, police said.
The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation, Sgt. John Bowling of the Indiana State Police said.
Police don’t know why Gulley, who was reportedly wearing all black clothing, was walking along the roadway. His mother, however, is certain he was preparing himself for death.
“I guess he just kind of knew it, what was going to happen,” she said. “I hate that he had to involve the police, but he just couldn’t face prison again.”
