HANCOCK COUNTY — The Greenfield man shot and killed by a Henry County deputy earlier this week fired the first shot at the officer and also was carrying illegal drugs, officials from the Indiana State Police said.
While the investigation into the police-action shooting early Tuesday involving Michael R. Gulley, 32, Greenfield, is ongoing, investigators have confirmed Gulley fired first, Sgt. John Bowling, ISP public information officer, said in a news release.
Gulley pulled a 9 mm handgun and fired once at the deputy before the deputy could return fire, Bowling said. The deputy, who was not hit, returned fire and hit Gulley. The Greenfield man later died at a hospital in New Castle.
Police said Gulley did not have a permit for the weapon. Investigators also confirmed he was carrying methamphetamine at the time of the incident.
Gulley was on probation in Hancock County for felony charges of dealing and possessing a controlled substance. He had been released from prison in August after serving nine years on drug charges, according to state records and his family.
His mother, Annette Dishman, Greenfield, told the Daily Reporter on Tuesday that she believed her son’s death was “suicide by cop” because he was certain he was going to fail an impending drug test and feared he’d be sent back to prison.
According to Hancock County law enforcement records, Gulley had a record of dealing drugs and theft dating as far back as 2007. He was cited just last week for driving while suspended. He was facing a court hearing on that matter in mid-May.
The incident happened in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday along Interstate 70 in Henry County. Officials received a call about a suspicious person walking along the interstate around 5:15 a.m. The Henry County deputy, who has not been identified, found Gulley walking along I-70 westbound at the 125-mile marker, two miles east of the New Castle exit.
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.
