On a summer afternoon in Terre Haute, Indiana, the life of a dedicated police officer was tragically cut short. Brent Daniel Long, a 34-year-old male officer with the Terre Haute Police Department, was killed in the line of duty on July 11, 2011. A six-year veteran of the department, Officer Long was also a husband and a father to two young children.
That day, Officer Long was part of a task force, including members of the U.S.
Marshals Service and Indiana State Police, serving a felony warrant at a residence on North 8th Street. The warrant was for Shaun Seeley, who was wanted for a felony probation violation. As officers arrived at the house, several people exited, but Seeley was not among them. Officer Long and his K-9 partner, Shadow, entered the home to search for the suspect. They located Seeley hiding inside a closet. As Officer Long commanded him to come out, Seeley opened fire.
Despite being wounded, Officer Long managed to return fire, injuring Seeley. The suspect continued to fire at other officers before ultimately taking his own life. Officer Long was rushed to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. His canine partner, Shadow, was also wounded in the exchange but survived after being treated at a veterinary clinic.
In the aftermath of the tragic event, the man who shot Officer Long was identified as Shaun Seeley. While Seeley was deceased, the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting led to the arrests of several other individuals. A federal investigation was launched, resulting in the indictment of seven Terre Haute residents on various charges.
Five of those individuals—Heather Elkins, Charles Elkins, Roberta Utterback, Jenny Torres, and Jesse Padgett—were charged with and later admitted to making false statements to law enforcement regarding Seeley's whereabouts on the day of the shooting. Two other men, Scott Griffy and Brad 'Pappy' Keller, faced charges related to the illegal possession and sale of the 9mm handgun used to kill Officer Long. Keller, a convicted felon, admitted to illegally possessing the firearm, which was then acquired by Griffy, also a convicted felon. Griffy was sentenced to seven years in prison for the illegal sale of the weapon to Seeley shortly before the fatal encounter. Keller received a sentence of 18 months in federal prison for his role.
