The summer of 2014 was quieter than usual in Elkhart County, with no homicides and fewer arrests than in past years. The shooting earlier this month of 18-year-old Dre Tarrious Rodgers was the county’s first homicide in more than five months. More recently, the seven Elkhart police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old fugitive Joseph Lee. Six deaths from four incidents have been ruled homicides this year. Two of the deaths were from officer-involved shootings, including the recent incident with Lee and the January shooting of Shawn Bair after he gunned down two women at the Coldwater Crossing Martin’s store. And, yes… Officer-involved shootings are classified as homicides even if the officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
