BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana woman says Brownstown Police saved her life, when they shot and killed her ex-boyfriend.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Stephen Wheeles says 53-year-old Barry Rucker was involved in a domestic dispute with the woman when he was shot around 8 a.m. Wednesday outside the Brownstown Police Department in Jackson County. Two officers found the couple arguing outside after a passerby called 911.
The woman is a survivor of repeated domestic abuse. She spoke to WDRB News asking that we not use her name or show her face. She claims Rucker terrorized her in her silver Dodge truck before she drove to the police station.
"I got up and went to take my daughter to school, and I thought something looked odd in the truck," she said "The console was pushed down.
"He was laying all the way across the two seats. I never heard him saw him or anything. I touched his elbow. I said, 'Barry what are you doing?' And he pulled out a gun and pointed it at me from behind. He said keep driving and drive out of town."
She drove to the Brownstown Police station on Walnut Street instead.
"It was some time while dealing with the male and the female, and they felt that the male needed to be taken into custody. The male didn't comply to the officer's orders. The evidence indicates he resisted," Wheeles said.
Rucker was rushed to a hospital in Seymour where he died.
"They tasered him twice, and he wasn't listening to what they were telling him to do," the woman said.
Wheeles said the situation escalated to where the officers felt threatened and needed to defend themselves. That's when both officers drew their weapons and fired. Neither officer was injured.
Court records reveal a history of violence between the couple. Rucker was arrested in November when police say he held the victim captive for hours with a machete. That incident violated a domestic abuse conviction involving the same woman from March 2018. Prosecutors asked a judge to revoke his probation. There had been a hearing on this issue just one day before the incident. He was offered a deal to accept 15 months on home detention.
The woman said she and Rucker were in a relationship for 12 years. She never imagined it would end like this.
"It hurts. I really cared about him," she said. "I didn't want anything bad to happen to him."
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