Officer's actions probed

Muncie police are investigating a Ball State University police officer who shot and killed a Ball State student Saturday in a residential neighborhood near the university campus. \nSince Officer Robert Duplain was just in his seventh month of duty, police officials might look into the training the rookie officer received before he shot 21-year-old Michael Mckinney.\nPeople who knew Mckinney also are questioning the officer's actions. \nAccording to BSU Police Chief Gene Burton, at 3:26 a.m. Saturday a woman called police to 1325 W. North St. in Muncie for a "burglary in progress." \nBSU officers responded to the call. Within one minute, Duplain and three other officers arrived on the scene. \nAccording to the police report, Duplain searched the perimeter of the back of the house. There he found Mckinney pounding on the back door and window of the house. Duplain reportedly told Mckinney to stop and get down. \nAccording to police, Mckinney lunged at Duplain, causing him to shoot four times into Mckinney's torso. Officers who undergo firearms training according to Indiana Law Enforcement Academy standards are taught to stop a suspect if they use deadly force by firing two rounds -- called a double tap -- into the person's torso.\nThere were no other officers in the backyard with Duplain at the time of the shooting. \nMckinney's fraternity brother Phil Juskevice, whose house Mckinney was supposed to stay at the night of the shooting, said he finds it hard to believe someone could take his friend as a serious threat.\n"He looked like he was 12 years old. He was a short, pudgy kid, and I don't understand how he could look intimidating to a police officer unarmed," Juskevice said. \nJuskevice said he had been out at the bars with Mckinney earlier in the evening and was supposed to meet up with him later. He said Mckinney slept at his house many times and since Mckinney was drunk, he probably mistook the neighbor's home -- which closely resembles his -- for Juskevice's.\n"He always knew the front door was locked so he would always come around and bang on the back," Juskevice said. \nJuskevice said Mckinney was an easy-going guy and described a past run-in the pair had with police. \n"All the papers have been talking about (past) theft charges," Juskevice said. "That was actually from me and him trying to take a stop sign, and when the police showed up he just sat down an said 'Oh we're busted.' He didn't argue with him or anything ... it's just not like him to do something like this." \nJuskevice added all charges were eventually dropped. \nHe said he doesn't understand how the situation could escalate the way it did. \n"Are the policemen not trained enough to subdue somebody, especially someone small and obviously intoxicated?" Juskevice said. "It's university police, and they should be used to dealing with drunk students." \nDuring his training period, Duplain went through a 40-hour pre-basic course run by ILEA. Pre-basic includes eight hours of firearms training, eight hours of physical tactics and the remainder of the time is spent on classroom topics such as criminal law.\nBurton said Duplain also graduated from the department's 14-week Field Training Program, designed to put a rookie with a veteran who can school him in on-the-street law enforcement. Burton said he was very successful and didn't require any remedial training.\n"We are very aware of the officers' experience level," Burton said. "We want to train them as best we can and put them in the best position to serve the community."\nAside from physical tactics and his weapon, Duplain, who Burton said did not have his baton with him, was without any other tools to stop Mckinney. \nDuplain was not certified with pepper spray, Burton said. Since he wasn't certified, he wasn't allowed to carry it.\nBurton said there are officers on BSU's police force who carry pepper spray, but Duplain hadn't been certified since there are no instructors at BSU who could conduct the required training. The outside trainer BSU uses is hard to get because of cost and scheduling conflicts, Burton said.\nDuplain is currently on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. \n-- Contact staff writer Brandon Morley at bmorley@indiana.edu. Managing editor Kristen Utrecht contributed to this report.