Northwest Indiana

Major Crimes Task Force

PRESS RELEASE
December 12, 2014
Major Crimes Completes Investigation of Lake Station Police Shooting
The Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force has completed their investigation of the
December 9, 2014, Lake Station Police Department shooting of an armed man at the Lake Station City
Hall parking lot located at 1969 Central Avenue, Lake Station, IN. John Laco, 84, of Portage (IN) was
killed by police after Laco exited his vehicle with a shotgun and pointed the gun at officers. Lake Station
Police Chief Kevin Garber requested that the Major Crimes Task Force conduct an independent
investigation of the shooting.
The investigation reveals that at 10:29 AM Tuesday, city hall employees heard a gunshot and
looked outside their windows to see an armed man standing in the middle of the parking lot. The
gunman then walked to his vehicle, got inside of it and waited. The city hall and police station are
housed in the same building. Lake Station Police Lt. John McDaniel, Detective Dennis Dover and
Detective Glenn Gulley, exited the police station to investigate the gunshot and found Laco sitting inside
his vehicle with the window rolled down and the barrel of a shotgun exposed out the window.
With weapons drawn, the police officers ordered Laco to drop the gun and to display his empty
hands. Laco responded by exiting his vehicle and pointing his shotgun at the police. All three police
officers fired their weapons at Laco. From a distance of approximately 15-20 yards, eleven shots were
fired by the police and Laco sustained three gunshot wounds (head, chest and right hand). Laco died at
the scene. Investigators determined that Laco died with his finger on the trigger of a loaded 16 gauge
pump shotgun. Laco also had an inoperable pellet handgun in the front pocket of his sweatshirt that he
was wearing.
Lacos vehicle, two adjacent vehicles and the nearby Lake Station-New Chicago branch of the
Lake County Public Library sustained gunshot damages from several bullets and bullet fragments. No
injuries were sustained by the public or the police.
Lake Station police officers rescued Laco from his burning house (2701 Central Avenue) at 12:05
AM on February 20, 2014. Since that time, Laco has lived with several friends and relatives, most
recently renting a room from a friend at a Portage residence. Lacos fire damaged residence became a
source of concern to the city because it was vacant, structurally impaired and a hazard to public health.
As such, the Building Commission Hearing Authority of the City of Lake Station Building Department
served Laco with a second formal legal notice ordering him to appear before the Authority, with the
second meeting scheduled at 6 PM on Monday, December 8, 2014 at the city council chambers. The
hearing was for Laco to provide them with a status report on what he was doing with his property. Laco
failed to appear for the Monday night hearing.

Associates of Laco described him as an angry, elderly man who at times suffered from
depression. He frequently made negative comments about the Lake Station Mayor and how the city
was trying to force him to demolish his fire damaged residence.
At 4:30 PM on Monday, December 8, 2014, a neighbor of Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist
heard what appeared to be a gunshot. When the neighbor looked outside, he observed what appeared
to be a small, dark colored, sport utility vehicle driving away. The mayor was not at home at the time
and the neighbor did not call the police. While investigating Lacos death on Tuesday, detectives
learned about the report of gunfire near the mayors home the prior night. Detectives went to the
mayor residence to search for evidence and it was determined that the house had not sustained any
type of damage. However, the internal portion of a fired shotgun shell was located in the mayors front
yard. It is noted that the portion of the shotgun shell found in the mayors front yard was consistent
with the internal portion of the fired shotgun shell found in the city hall parking lot after Laco had fired
his shotgun. Furthermore, it is noted that the vehicle Laco owns, a black Dodge Caliber, is similar in
appearance to the vehicle witnessed driving away from the mayors house after a gunshot was heard.
That said, without any firm witnesses or definable physical evidence, investigators cannot say with any
certainty that Laco was involved in the discharge of a firearm at the mayors residence. Mayor
Soderquist did not know John Laco and had no known prior contact or interaction with him.
A search of Lacos personal belongings uncovered a notebook from 2007 wherein Laco detailed
his personal stalking of the then Lake Station Police Chief Michael Stills. Handwritten notations listed
the dates, times and locations of the police chief. Police also recovered an audio cassette tape of a
recorded phone conversation Laco had with Chief Stills. The stalking acts allegedly were a result of
Lacos displeasure with how police handled a juvenile assault case involving a family member. The
stalking stopped when the police chief discovered Laco parked outside of the chiefs residence and the
chief confronted him. Also found was a handwritten, undated letter of Lacos providing instructions for
family members to follow in the event of his death.
On Monday evening, at the Lake Station Building Commission Hearing Authority hearing that
Laco did not attend, the Authority determined that it was necessary to demolish and remove all of the
unsafe property at Lacos fire damaged residence. The notice ordered that the property be demolished,
removed, filled and graded at a cost of $9,500, and that Laco would be billed for the work. The notice
was set to be mailed on the day that Laco died.
Preliminary Investigative Finding: The Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force has
determined that the deadly use of force by the three Lake Station police officers was justified and that
their actions potentially prevented other catastrophic events from occurring. A formal report will be
forwarded to the Lake County Prosecutors Office for an official independent review of the task force
investigation. The Lake Station Police Department will also conduct an internal review of the shooting
and formally report their findings to their Board of Works.

# END #

CONTACT PERSON: Robert Byrd, Spokesperson

Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force
219-898-0059 Cell