Tuesday, September 11, 2018 10:45 am
Fort Wayne police officer dies following pursuit
The Journal Gazette
Fort Wayne police have identified the officer who died following a pursuit Monday night.
David A. Tinsley, a 16-year veteran with the police department, was chasing a suspect police believe was driving a stolen car, a statement from the department said.
The pursuit began around 11:15 p.m. near Southcrest and Kent roads and ended at the Rivergreenway near Candlelite Apartments off of Fairfield Avenue just south of Paulding Road.
Tinsley and his officer-in-training chased the suspect, Patrick Anthony Faiers, 49, of Fort Wayne, along the Rivergreenway after Faiers crashed the car he was driving in a wooded area just off the greenway, where he was eventually caught.
On the way back to his vehicle, Tinsley collapsed, a statement from police said. Officers performed resuscitation efforts until medics arrived.
Tinsley was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Already wearing a black band around his badge, an emotional Fort Wayne Police Chief Steve Reed on Tuesday called Tinsley a friend.
"He served our department and the city with honor," Reed said at a late morning news conference in his office at the Rousseau Centre. "He was a good guy, always going above and beyond -- like last night. He will be missed greatly."
Faiers was charged with being a habitual offender and resisting, both felonies.
Fort Wayne police are asking for flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of their fallen officer.
"He was a cop's cop," Reed said of Tinsley. "Anytime you lose an officer, a friend, a coworker, it's hard."
Funeral plans are pending.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's print edition of The Journal Gazette or visit www.journalgazette.net after 1 a.m. Wednesday.