Man charged with killing Indianapolis police officer seeking insanity defense

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A man charged with fatally shooting an Indianapolis police officer when she responded to a domestic violence call in 2020 is seeking an insanity defense as he seeks to avoid the death penalty.

Attorneys for Elliahs Dorsey filed a motion with the court Wednesday saying a report prepared by a doctor states he was suffering from a mental illness when he fatally wounded Officer Breann Leath of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Leath and three other officers were responding to a domestic violence call involving Dorsey when she was shot to death through the door of an Indianapolis apartment, police have said. She died of two gunshots to the head.

Dorsey faces one count each of murder and criminal confinement, and four counts of attempted murder, one of which stems from his alleged shooting of a woman he had confined inside the apartment.

His attorneys acknowledged they filed their motion for an insanity defense later than normal but blamed the delay in part on issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Marion County judge ruled this month that prosecutors can seek the death penalty against Dorsey.

Dorsey's trial currently is scheduled to begin Sept. 18.