Officer Breann Leath was shot and killed after responding to a domestic disturbance at the Wellington Village apartment complex.
As she and three other officers approached the third-floor apartment and announced their presence, shots were fired through the door. Officer Leath was struck twice in the head and after officers initially retreated, they were able to pull her to safety before she was transported to Eskenazi Hospital where she died.
A female victim, who was inside the apartment, was shot in each thigh and twice in her stomach as she fled the apartment but survived.
A 27-year-old male suspect was apprehended inside the apartment and charged with murder, attempted murder, criminal confinement and battery.
A jury found him guilty but mentally ill for which he was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 15 years probation for the attempted murder of the female victim to be served consecutively with 1,943 days for the reckless homicide of Officer Leath, and 910 days in jail to be served concurrently for criminal recklessness and criminal confinement.
Officer Leath was assigned to the East District. She had previously served for nearly two years with the Indiana Department of Correction as a correctional officer at the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis.
She was survived by her 4-year-old son, Zayn; parents, Tom and Jennifer; sisters, Jayla and Tiana; maternal grandparents, David and Susanne Malone; and significant other, Charles Parker, who serves as an officer with the department.
Her father serves as a reserve deputy sheriff, her mother served as a 911 dispatcher and her sister, Tiana, serves in the jail division with the Marion County Sheriff's Department.
Military Service
Indiana Army National Guard Specialist (SPC) ▪ 2014–2017
Military Police Corps 387th Military Police Company |
Memorial Tribute • In April 2021, the Indiana Women's Prison renamed their wellness clinic that allows incarcerated mothers to stay with their children the Officer Breann Leath Maternal Child Health Unit in her honor. • In 2024, a Memorial Mile was designated on U.S. 52, between Davis Road and German Church Road, in her honor. |
Historical Notes • Officer Leath is the third known female African-American law enforcement line of duty death in Indiana.• Officer Leath is the second of five Indiana line of duty deaths in 2020. • She is the fourth line of duty death of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. • Her line of duty death is the 94th that has originated from Marion County. |