Michigan City officer's shooting of South Bend man ruled justified due to 'deadly threat'

Yahoo

31-05-2025

The actions of a Michigan City officer who fatally shot a South Bend man during a pursuit in April 2025 were ruled justified.
On May 29, the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office, acting as special prosecutor, found that the officer who shot a man on April 4 was legally justified in using deadly force to defend himself.
Michigan City Police identified the officer who fired his gun as Sgt. Michael Oberle — a 15-year veteran of the department, The Tribune's reporting partners at WNDU-TV said — however a report from the prosecutor's office does not identify the officer by name.
A Michigan City officer conducted a traffic stop around 5:30 p.m. at the 5800 block of South Franklin Street, near Walmart, for driving without headlights in reduced visibility, a Michigan City Police Department press release said.
The driver and passenger in the car gave the officer their names. However, the passenger's name, who identified himself as 'Jose Martinez,' was associated with several active warrants, the prosecutor's office said. The officer began to investigate if the passenger was the same man, the prosecutor's press release said, but at this time, the passenger, who was later identified as Jose Meza, fled from the vehicle.
Multiple officers, including Oberle, pursued Meza — a 21-year-old from South Bend — and observed Meza pull a firearm from his waistband and point it at the officers, the prosecutor's office said. Oberle was backing up the officer that initially conducted the traffic stop, Michigan City Police Chief Marty Corley told The Tribune. Meza fled across parking lots and hedges at a business before pointing his gun at Oberle, the prosecutor said.
'Believing that Meza posed a deadly threat, (Oberle) fired multiple shots, striking Meza,' the prosecutor's office report said.
Meza fell to the ground, began to reach for his gun and Oberle fired two more shots, the prosecutor said. Meza was rendered first aid and transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the press release said.
Indiana State Police District 13 Criminal Investigations Division investigated the shooting, finding evidence that showed Meza attempted to fire multiple times, but his gun malfunctioned, the prosecutor's office said.
Oberle was placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, a press release from Michigan City Police Department said.
Indiana State Police presented the investigation to the county prosecutor's office for further review on May 21. The investigation is now closed, Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney Jacob R. Taulman said in a news release, and no charges were filed against Oberle.
Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Michigan City cop faces no charges as fatal shooting ruled 'justified'