NEW ALBANY, Ind. — A southern Indiana man, who was shot by police after a domestic disturbance in 2020, received the maximum prison sentence for his charges on Thursday.
Sebastian Beck was arrested on Sept. 12, 2020 after he attempted to hit a New Albany Police (NAPD) officer with a car. He accepted a plea deal and was charged with attempted aggravated battery and domestic battery charges.
In a Floyd County courtroom on Thursday, Beck was sentenced to 16 years behind bars. That's the maximum sentence he can receive with his charges, prosecutors said. He has already served 850 days in jail.
Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane said the case was so important because the officer was trying to protect someone in a domestic violence situation with children present.
"[Officer Jon Davidson] took this position to help people. He went there to help people. He didn't know these people, he had no idea what he was going into," Lane said. " He put his life, literally on the line, against an over 3,000-pound vehicle coming at him. That's courage, that's a hero and that's why we're here today."
He added that repeated domestic violence incidents can lead to escalated felonies. Lane said officials plan to soon roll out a new program to tackle domestic violence in the community.
Floyd County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Liz Stigdon said their office will assign a prosecutor to specifically prosecute felony domestic violence cases, "so that's there's very focused, vertical prosecution of these cases."
Details on the program are limited right now but WHAS11 was told the prosecutor's office will be working closely with NAPD on enhanced training with the hope it will send a message that domestic violence won't be tolerated.
New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey said since the incident, Davidson has been promoted and now works with the department's Evidence Technician Unit.
Case Background
In September 2020, the New Albany Police Department responded to an incident at a home in the 100 block of Gordon Drive.
After speaking with the 911 caller at the scene, Officer Jon Davidson found Beck sitting in the driver's seat of a car parked nearby. Davidson asked Beck to step out of the vehicle, at which point Beck put the car in gear, backed up, and drove the car directly at the New Albany police officer.
Davidson attempted to get out of the way of the vehicle, even hiding behind a bush, however Beck continued to accelerate the vehicle toward the officer and drove over the bush. That's when Davidson fired four shots, striking both Beck and the car.
According to police, Beck continued driving into the 4H Fairgrounds, where he crashed into a building.
Following an investigation into the police shooting, Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane said Indiana State Police and the Floyd County Prosecutor's Officer determined Davidson's use of force was justified.
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