INDIANAPOLIS
An off-duty, out-of-state police officer was trying to break up a fight among his friends when he was fatally struck, police said.
Officers were called to the 100 block of East St. Clair Street, near the Central Library, just before 2:30 a.m. on a report of a man down and bleeding from the head.
The man was taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
Police identified the victim as Sean Cooney, 27, a part-time officer working Rutland, Mass., a small town with a population of 8,700 about 52 miles west of Boston.
Cooney was in Indianapolis helping to organize the funeral of a friend.
After he and some friends had been out drinking Thursday night, some members of the party started to fight, police said.
Sean Cooney
When Cooney tried to break up the scuffle he was struck or fell, suffering the fatal blow, police said.
Cooney worked as a dispatcher and as an officer with the Massachusetts Trial Court before being hired as an officer in February, TheBostonChannel.com reported.
"Officer Cooney was a well-liked and respected member of this department. His passing has been a devastating blow to our community and he will be sadly missed," the department said in a statement Friday.
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