(6-13-20) While Mercer County is waiting for its 2nd ‘Black Lives Matter’ Walk in Celina on Sunday, a protest walk took place in Portland (Ind) yesterday called ‘Justice For Spencer’.
Spencer Calvert (21) was a 2017 graduate of Jay County High School, where he played varsity basketball and golf. According to a Star Press article he had been experiencing mental health issues, including extreme depression before his death.
On May 1st in a confrontation with local Portland Police and the Jay County Sheriff’s Deputies he apparently charged them while armed with a kitchen knife. He was shot five times by a Portland Police officer and would die later that day at IU Health Jay Hospital.
In a May 28th press release Jay County prosecutor Wes Schemenaur said the Indiana State Police investigation showed Portland police officer Mitchell Rigby was-
“justified in using deadly force … in order to prevent serious bodily injury to himself or others in the area.”
According to the release, police and civilian eyewitnesses told state police investigators that Calvert was charging at Rigby with the knife raised in a threatening manner when Rigby fired five shots. Rigby’s body camera footage confirmed those accounts, the release adds. Calvert was approximately 5 to 10 feet away from Rigby when the shots were fired. All five shots struck Calvert, with at least one penetrating his chest and proving fatal.
“The loss of human life is a tragedy and my sincere condolences go out to Calvert’s family and friends on their loss. However, during the entire 11-12-minute encounter between the officers and Calvert, multiple, non-lethal methods were employed against Calvert in an attempt to subdue him. These facts, coupled with Calvert continuing to stab himself, the presence of multiple bystanders, including children from the nearby daycare, and Calvert’s final charge at Officer Rigby with the knife raised, lead to the conclusion that Officer Rigby was justified in using deadly force against Calvert in order to prevent serious bodily injury to himself or others in the area.”
