Ex-cop gets probation for shooting at off-duty Hammond police officer while on patrol: records

According to records, it is now a former St. A St. John Police officer received one year of probation Thursday after pleading guilty to shooting at an off-duty Hammond officer on Nov. 29, 2022.

Phillip Fabian, 34, pleaded guilty to criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor. His sentence was determined according to the terms of the plea.

Judge Gina Jones accepted the plea and sentenced him Thursday, according to filings.

Fabian left office on February 6, 2023 and moved to St. John’s resignation was approved the same day, according to minutes of the security board’s meeting.

The Hammond officer told Lake County detectives he drove to Cedar Lake to pick up a tool from a family member’s home before heading to his 4 a.m. shift, according to court records. According to records, while traveling north on Cline Boulevard, a St. John saw the officer make what he thought was a traffic stop as he turned onto East 93rd Street.

According to records, St. The Hammond officer, who saw the car he thought the St. John officer had stopped, told police that St. John said the officer gave Fabian a wide berth but casually observed the scene to make sure Fabian was okay. He didn’t see anyone but then heard gunshots, according to court records.

Meanwhile, footage from Fabian’s body camera shows Fabian examining a Saturn Outlook parked on the north side of the road. Hammond moved to the south side of the road when the officer’s vehicle was heard approaching, records show.

As Fabian turns toward the vehicle, the camera shows him drawing his gun and firing, saying over his radio, “St. Records, shots fired at John 38 – a car just tried to run me off the road.” The charging document stated that the sound of the Hammond police officer’s vehicle accelerating was not heard at any point, and Fabian was not seen in the dashcam footage taken when he unholstered his gun.

Although the Hammond police officer’s car appeared to slow as he approached Fabian to examine the Outlook, “at no point did Officer Fabian dive or move rapidly to get out of the way of the oncoming Jeep,” records state. “While the incident was being watched from both video and audio recorded devices, the sound of the tires and engine of the oncoming Jeep continued at a constant speed,” the documents said.

Fabian fired six or seven shots at Hammond police, records show. Detectives found bullet holes in the hood and a bullet hole in the lower part of the passenger-side windshield.

mcolias@post-trib.com

Michelle L. Quinn contributed