Porter County
Sheriff Dave Reynolds has asked the Indiana State Police to investigate an
incident on Thursday which left an officer with a broken ankle and a South
Haven man who reportedly struggled with that officer in critical condition.
According to the
ISP, at 8:50 a.m. the officer was dispatched to the area of Brook Drive and
McCool Road in South Haven in response to a report of a male subject’s
“acting irrationally” and “allegedly throwing a Christmas tree and garbage
into the roadway.”
On his arrival, the
officer made contact with Harold W. Gielow Jr., 55, just south of U.S.
Highway 6, on McCool Road near Al’s Supermarket. Gielow “immediately began
to fight with the deputy,” the ISP said.
A Good Samaritan
who resides in the area assisted the officer until other units from the PCSP
and the Portage Police Department arrived on the scene, the ISP said.
At some point
“Gielow suffered a medical emergency,” the ISP said, the nature of which the
ISP did not specify.
Gielow was
transported to Porter Regional Hospital, where he was reported in critical
condition.
The officer, meanwhile--a
five and a half year veteran of the PCSP--sustained a fractured ankle and
was transported to Porter Portage Hospital Campus, the ISP said. The
45-year-old Good Samaritan was also transported there, for treatment of a
hand injury.
“This is an ongoing
investigation with the full cooperation of the Porter County Sheriff’s
Department and Portage Police,” the ISP.
ISP investigators
would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident. Contact
Det. Mark Brietic or Det. Mike Bailey at (219) 696-6242.