30 June 1954 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

While doing my genealogy research, I encounter a lot of nuggets of information that intrigue me.  One cousin lived until she was two weeks shy of her 100th birthday, and I have wondered over all the inventions and world events she read and learned about during her long life...  What did she feel about certain inventions, what were her feelings about the wars that took place during her life, etc.  Last night I was looking on the "Find a Grave" website to verify birth and death dates of a cousin, when I was struck by the photo attached to his grave.  My cousin was a police officer in Indianapolis, Indiana, and this is the photo that gave me pause:

My cousin's name was Willard Sampson Givan, and he is the officer on the left side of the photo, giving assistance to Lt. Paul D. Pearsey, who had just been hit by a shotgun blast.  The photo was used by Life magazine in the 12 July 1954 issue, and the title of the article was "Mayhem in the Sun."  In Indianapolis, this incident has become infamous as "The Battle of Elder Avenue" - and this occurrence, plus the 1 August 1966 University of Texas Tower shootings, brought about the existence of the Specialized Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) teams we have today.

   In 1954 a single man with a shotgun and a .22 rifle kept 200 police officers at bay, and shot 11 of them, for almost 3 hours.  The police fire an estimated 10,000 rounds of ammunition during their attack, and never struck the man inside.  The officers had no plan and were not coordinated in their attack.  The Indiana governor watched the incident while hiding behind a bush. After the incident, he and the other lead police officers of the state decided a special task force was needed to deal with any other such incidents that might arise, but the task force was never formed.

   It was a very hot day in Indianapolis that Wednesday.  Janie Ellis had walked to the grocery store and made a few needed purchases.  Returning home to the house on Elder Avenue, she found her husband beating one of their five foster children.  When Janie intervened, her husband, Howard Ellis, grabbed her and held a knife to her throat, threatening to kill her.  One of the children yelled from another room, and Janie was able to break free and run to a neighbor's home to use the telephone.

   She first called the local Mental Hospital, which had recently released her husband, stating that he was rehabilitated.  She spoke with her husband's doctor, and told him that her husband had been beating her and molesting two of the foster children since his return.  The doctor told her to call the police and have them bring him back to the Mental Hospital.  Mrs Ellis called the police and explained the situation, and two officers were sent to the neighbors home, to walk over to the Ellis house with Janie.

   While Howard Ellis had been in the hospital, Janie had searched the house, top to bottom, and had given away the 10 guns and ammunition she had found.  She knew her husband was a crack shot and had been afraid he'd shoot her and the children upon his return.  While waiting for the police to arrive, Janie watched her house from the neighbor's window.  She saw her husband go into the shed and return to the house carrying the shotgun, the rifle and "an armful" of ammunition.  When the two police officers arrived, she warned them that Howard was now armed; she also thought that all of the children were still inside the house.

   While walking toward the house with the two police officers, the three of them heard Mr Ellis yelling that he'd die before being locked up in the hospital again.  The police officers had not drawn their guns, and Janie Ellis was walking to their left as they approached the house.  The shotgun roared through a window, and Janie went down to the ground.  She was shot in the left thigh and hand.  The officers dragged her from the yard, and called for assistance.  After more than an hour, it was discovered that all of the children had safely exited the home.  Then all hell broke loose.

  Janie Ellis and the eleven police officers who were shot all lived.  Howard Ellis did not.  Finally, using an armored bank truck as cover, ten men moved to the back door of the house, while another 200 officers poured gunfire into the front of the house.  The ten men opened the back door and entered.  They saw Mr Ellis calmly reloading his shotgun, completely untouched by bullets, standing behind a bookcase.  He fired at the intruders, and they fired back.  Ellis stepped back behind the bookcase and reloaded his shotgun.  He stepped out again, but his shotgun misfired - and he continued to walk toward his assailants, finally falling with 26 bullets in his body.

    Howard Ellis was the first person who caused the development of the SWAT team we know today.