Police Officer Robert Shawn Pitts

Robert Shawn Pitts

Police Officer Rob Pitts was shot and killed while conducting a homicide investigation at the Garder Quarter Apartments on Linwood Court.

Investigators were following up on leads from a homicide that occurred earlier in the day. As Officer Pitts and other detectives approached the homicide suspect's apartment the man opened fire on them, fatally wounding Officer Pitts. Officer Pitts was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.

The suspect who shot Officer Pitts was found shot and killed from a possible self-inflicted wound at his apartment after barricading himself inside. The suspect's girlfriend was later charged since she confessed knowing he was armed, despite initially telling officers she didn't know. She was given a 1-year sentence followed by probation in November 2019.

Officer Pitts had served with the Terre Haute Police Department for 16 years and prior to that, he was a six-year veteran of the Sullivan City Police Department.

He is survived by his daughter, two sons, his sister and brother, his parents, and by his grandmother and great-grandmother.