By Nicole Davis
A little more than four-and-a-half years since Lt. Aaron Allan was killed while responding to a traffic accident, a verdict has been reached in his case.
Jason Dane Brown, 32, was found guilty of murder on Feb. 21. He faces up to 65 years in prison. He will be sentenced on April 8.
July 17, 2017
Allan, 38, lost his life in the line of duty on July 27, 2017. He and an officer with the Homecroft Police Department were responding to a flipped vehicle near Madison Avenue and Maynard Drive. Brown, the driver, was still upside down, being held in by his seatbelt, when Allan arrived and climbed in the car to try and help. Brown pulled his gun and fired 18 shots, striking Allan 11 times.
Other officers responding to the scene returned fire, shooting Brown in the face and neck. He was taken to the hospital and arrested after recovering from his injuries. He was charged with a felony count of murder, as well as a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.
The prosecutor’s office initially sought the death penalty, but that was removed after Brown asked and agreed to waive a jury trial. Superior Court Judge Mark Stoner ruled midway through the trial that the prosecution did not have enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Brown knew Allan was a police officer for a life without parole sentence. The trial included more than 200 exhibits and testimony from more than two dozen witnesses.
The defense argued Brown suffered from a seizure and was not in control of his actions that day. Prosecutors argued that Brown was high and hallucinating when he crashed that day.
Remembering Lt. Allan
Allan had been a member of the Southport Police Department for six years. He was a veteran of the U.S. Airforce who has a degree in criminal justice and nearly 20 years of law enforcement experience. He came onto the Southport Police Department as a reserve officer in 2011, working full-time as an officer for the Franklin Township Community School Corporation.
Even as a reserve, he was active in all the Southport department did, including volunteering for the dunk tank at National Night Out, volunteering to shop with children in need during the annual Trooper Bartram Christmas for Kids event, or giving money and helping to organize fundraisers which benefitted local families in need. For his eagerness to help, he was given a nickname of “Teddy Bear.”
A resident of the Northwest side of Indianapolis, he prioritized his family – his wife, Stacy and two sons.
Allan was promoted to Southport’s first-ever full-time police officer position in January 2017. He was also in charge of the training program at the Southport Police Academy.
Lt. Allan is the first Southport police officer to be killed in the line of duty.