FOOTNOTE: EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
Up date on Shooting Involving EPD Officer
In all critical incidents involving the Evansville Police Department, we are committed to transparency. In keeping with that commitment, we are releasing the name and badge number of the officer involved in the 11/22/2025 police action shooting in the unit block of E. Louisiana St. The officer involved is Nicholas Helfert, 2X1536. Officer Helfert has been with the Evansville Police Department since November 2021. Prior to joining the Evansville Police Department, Officer Helfert served with the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office for 2 years.
The ongoing investigation includes parallel, but independent criminal and internal investigations. The criminal investigation will be conducted by the Evansville Police Department and reviewed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office to determine if any Indiana state statutes were violated. The internal investigation will be conducted by the officer’s chain of command.
The criminal investigation will be conducted by the Adult Investigation Unit. The investigation will include the gathering of statements from all involved parties and witnesses. Investigators will also collect digital and physical evidence. As the target of the criminal investigation, the officer is read their Miranda Rights and afforded their legal protection under the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution. With these rights in mind, the officer cannot be compelled to provide a statement to the investigator. Once the criminal investigation case file has been approved by the Adult Investigation Commander, it is forwarded to the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office.
As a part of the internal investigation, the officer will be compelled to give a recorded statement to the chain of command. The investigation will also include the gathering of statements from all involved parties and witnesses. In all EPD use of force investigations, the goal is to establish whether the officers’ actions are objectively reasonable under the standards set in Graham v. Conner.
Once the investigation is completed, the Internal Affairs Unit will review the case file and any other pertinent material relating to the incident and issue a written report to the Chief advising if the department’s rules and regulations were followed. At the conclusion of the internal investigation, all findings are subject to review by the Evansville Police Merit Commission. The Evansville Police Merit Commission is responsible for all hiring and enforcing all discipline, up to and including termination.
Note: in accordance with Garrity v. New Jersey, information gathered during a compelled statement given during an internal investigation cannot be included in the criminal investigation.
Per EPD Policy 359.01, every officer directly involved in the use-of-force that causes death or serious bodily injury or who discharged a firearm in a manner that was likely to have caused death or serious bodily injury shall be assigned three consecutive days of administrative leave. Immediately following the incident, the officer must undergo blood-alcohol and drug testing. Prior to returning to duty after a critical incident, officers must also attend a counseling session by a licensed mental health professional to ensure they are fit to return to duty.
The criminal and internal investigations described above are still ongoing. Anyone with information into this incident is asked to contact the Adult Investigation Unit at 812-436 7979.
THUNDERBOLTS RALLY FROM 3-GOAL DEFICIT, EARN POINT IN SHOOTOUT LOSS
Macon, Ga.: The Thunderbolts were unable to break their win streak record as it was ended at seven games, but the point streak continues as Evansville came back from a 3-0 deficit to pick up a point in their 4-3 shootout loss at Macon on Wednesday. The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Friday, December 5th against the Macon Mayhem at 7:00pm CT.
Macon picked up the first lead of the game only 3:18 in with a goal by John Kaljian. Evansville nearly tied the game late in the period, but a shot by Myles Abbate hit the crossbar. The Mayhem struck twice early in the second period to take a 3-0 lead as Connor May scored at 2:29 and Matteo Ybarra scored at 5:26. Midway through the period, Macon got into penalty trouble and Evansville went to work on a 5-on-3 advantage. On the 5-on-3, Evansville again hit a crossbar, but shortly afterward as it became 5-on-4, Matthew Hobbs scored on a net-front redirection at 12:06 from Tyson Gilmour and Joey Berkopec to shorten the Macon lead to 3-1. At 18:18, Evansville cut the lead to 3-2 as Keanan Stewart scored on a rebound from Gilmour and Connor Federkow to make it a one-goal game going into the third period. Still down 3-2 late, Evansville pulled goaltender Kristian Stead and scored to tie the game with only 1:03 remaining as Myles Abbate scored from Aidan Litke and Stewart to force overtime, which ended scoreless and brought about a shootout. In the 10-round shootout, Myles Abbate scored for Evansville, but the Mayhem scored twice, with Nathan Carl scoring the winning goal in the 10th round. Despite the win streak coming to an end, Evansville has earned at least a point in eight consecutive games (7-0-1), which is tied for the franchise record. Evansville has earned points in eight consecutive games twice before in their history, between January 5th and 23rd of 2018 (6-0-2) and between February 21st, 2020, and October 16th, 2021 (6-0-2), and will have the opportunity to set a new franchise record in Peoria on Friday night.
Stewart picked up a goal and assist, Abbate and Hobbs scored one goal each, and Gilmour tallied a pair of assists. In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 23 saves on 26 shots, plus 8 of 10 in the shootout, in only his 2nd loss of the season. The Thunderbolts and Mayhem meet again on Friday, December 5th at Ford Center, with Macon leading the season series 1-0.
INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RECOMMENDS BEST PRACTICES FOR FOOD SAFETY DURING THE HOLIDAYS
As families and loved ones celebrate the season by coming together for holiday meals, the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) reminds Hoosiers of food safety tips to prevent uninvited guests, like foodborne illness.
“At this time of year, we look forward to gathering together and enjoying all the festive foods of the season. No one wants the fun to be interrupted by getting sick,” said State Health Commissioner Lindsay Weaver, M.D., FACEP. “Please follow these reminders to make sure your food is safe to eat.”
Clean
Bacteria sometimes present in food, like Campylobacter or Salmonella, can survive on surfaces for up to 32 hours. It is important to remember the following ways to keep harmful bacteria out of the kitchen:
- Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with warm soapy water before, during and after handling food and before eating
- Clean and sanitize utensils and food contact surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after cooking
- Clean and sanitize countertops and other surfaces with hot, soapy water in the kitchen before and after cooking
Separate
- Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs separate from other foods in the refrigerator
- Use one cutting board or plate for raw meat, poultry and seafood and a separate cutting board or plate for foods like produce and bread
Cook
Food is safely cooked when the internal temperature gets high enough to kill harmful bacteria that can make you sick.
- Store frozen turkeys in the freezer until ready to thaw, and store fresh turkeys in the refrigerator until ready to cook
- Follow manufacturer’s instructions for safe thawing using refrigeration, cold water or immediate cooking
- Use a food thermometer to ensure foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature. The required minimum internal temperature for poultry or stuffing in poultry is 165°F. Check the temperature of your turkey for doneness in three places: the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the thigh and the innermost part of the wing
Eat
- Wash hands before serving or eating prepared foods
- Keep hot foods hot (above 140°F) and cold foods cold (below 40°F). Bacteria can multiply quickly in food left at room temperature. Never leave perishable food out for more than two hours (or one hour if exposed to temperatures above 90°F)
Chill
- Refrigerate food quickly after a meal, and keep cold at temperatures below 40°F
- Reheat leftovers to at least 165°F
- Discard leftovers within seven days
More information about food safety during the holidays and every day, and prevention of foodborne illness is available on the IDOH website.
Hoosier Trio Collects Big Ten Weekly Awards
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana swimming and diving swept the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honors, and Liberty Clark captured her fourth Big Ten Freshman of the Week as the conference office announced its weekly awards Wednesday (Nov. 26) following midseason action.
Junior Miranda Grana earned her third Big Ten Swimmer of the Week award after winning three events at the Ohio State Invitational, including all three of her individual events as well as a sweep of the backstroke events. Grana swam a program record 49.98 in the 100-yard butterfly and a 49.89 in the 100-yard backstroke to become the fifth woman to go sub-50 seconds in both events, joining Olympians Claire Curzan, Maggie MacNeil, Regan Smith and Gretchen Walsh. Her times in the 100 back, 100 fly and 200 back (1:49.06) all rank No. 3 nationally this season.
Senior Zalán Sárkány won the Big Ten Men’s Swimmer of the Week honor after setting the nation’s fastest times in the 500-yard freestyle (4:09.57) and 1,650-yard freestyle (14:23.85). Sárkány narrowly missed program record in those events but achieved the school standard in the 400-yard IM (3:39.73), finally beating the 11-year old record after tying it last season in a third-place finish.
Clark won five events at her first midseason meet. In the 50-yard freestyle, Clark set a program record (21.54) in a second-place performance as well as IU’s best-ever relay leadoff (21.61). In the 100-yard freestyle, the freshman broke the program record twice with an individual-event winning 46.87 before trimming it to a 46.83 in a relay leadoff. Her 200-yard freestyle performance earned “Arena Swim of the Week” honors from SwimSwam.com, as Clark’s 1:41.27 made her the 16th-fastest woman all-time and No. 6 American in the 17-18 age group.
Clark also split 45.87 as Indiana’s 400-yard medley relay anchor, becoming the 10th woman in NCAA history to split sub-46 seconds.
Governor Braun Makes Appointments to Various Boards and Commissions INDIANAPOLIS
– Governor Mike Braun today announced new appointments to various state boards and commissions.
Appointments:
Indiana Local Government Investment Pool Board
- Mike Zahn (First Federal Savings Bank)
- Appointment: Term expires 6/30/29
- Huntington County
Indiana Egg Board
- Casey Baesler (Baesler’s Market)
- Appointment: Term expires 6/30/26
- Vigo County
Ports of Indiana Commission
- Michael Simms (IUOE Local 150)
- Appointment: Term expires 3/31/28
- Porter County
Executive Board of the Indiana Department of Health
- Doug Shuck (Retired)
- Appointment: Term expires 12/31/26
- Madison County
- Suellyn Sorensen (St. Vincent Hospital & Health Systems)
- Reappointment: Term expires 10/31/29
- Marion County
Board of Firefighting Personnel Standard and Education
- Eric Camel (Chesterton Fire Department)
- Appointment: Term expires 10/31/28
- Porter County
Early Learning Advisory Committee
- Sam Charron (Indiana Manufacturers Association)
- Appointment: Term expires 10/31/28
- Marion County
- Rob Moorhead (South Ripley Community Schools)
- Reappointment: Term expires 10/31/28
- Dearborn County
- Ashleigh Moon (State of Indiana)
- Reappointment: term expires 10/31/28
- Marion
- Shannon Ford (Learning Care Group)
- Appointment: Term Expires 6/30/27
- Hamilton County
- Allie Sutherland (Northeast Indiana Early Childhood Coalition)
- Appointment: Term expires 6/30/27
- Allen County
Private Investigator and Security Guard Licensing Board
- Jeffrey Nesbitt (Marshall Security LLC)
- Appointment: Term expires 10/31/29
- Monroe County
- Cole Smith (Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office)
- Reappointment: Term expires 10/31/29
- Hendricks County
Board of Depositories
- Jeremy Siegle (Bank of Wolcott)
- Appointment: Term expires 10/31/29
- White County
Real Estate Appraiser Licensure and Certification Board
- Ronald Kohart (6605 E State, LLC)
- Reappointment: Term Expires 10/31/29
- Allen County
- Mark Ratterman (Resource LLC)
- Reappointment: Term expires 10/31/29
- Hendricks County
- Wayne Johnson (First Appraisal Group, Inc)
- Reappointment: Term expires 10/31/29
- Monroe County
- Dennis K (Matthew) Kruse II (PF Kruse Appraisal Group)
- Reappointment: Term expires 10/31/29
- DeKalb County
Indiana Board of Tax Review
- Brandee Chanin
- Appointment: Term expires 12/31/28
- Marion County
Indiana Arts Commission
- Jeanne Campbell
- Appointment: Term expires 10/31/29
- Dubois County
- Dawn Conwell (Entrepreneur)
- Appointment: Term expires 12/31/27
- Huntington County
- Judith Sawyier (Retired)
- Appointment: Term Expires 10/31/29
- Porter County
Drug Utilization Review Board
- Sumedha Gupta Goyal (Indiana University Indianapolis)
- Appointment: Term expires 10/31/28
- Hamilton County
Rare Disease Advisory Council
- Barbara Calhoun (University of Notre Dame)
- Appointment: Term expires 9/30/26
- St. Joseph County
DCS Ombudsman
- Kimberly Minniear (State of Indiana)
- Appointment: Serves at the Pleasure of Governor
- Hamilton County
Warrick Humane Society Launches Black Friday Initiative to Help Furnish New Shelter
Newburgh, IN — Warrick Humane Society is thrilled to announce the launch of a special Black Friday initiative to help furnish and equip its soon-to-open new shelter. With construction progressing quickly, WHS is preparing to move into a larger, more modern space that will provide rescue pets with increased comfort, improved care, and a greater chance at finding their forever homes.
To support this important transition, WHS has created a New Shelter Gift List on Amazon featuring essential items needed on opening day. From daily care supplies to enrichment items and operational necessities, each contribution helps ensure the new facility is ready to welcome animals in need from the very first moment its doors open.
“With our new shelter just around the corner, this is the perfect time for supporters to help us get set up for success,” said the team at WHS. “Black Friday deals make donations go even further, and every gift — big or small — brings us one step closer to providing a safe, welcoming space for the animals who rely on us.”
Supporters can browse and purchase items directly from the Amazon Gift List using the following link:
https://www.amazon.com/reg…/gl/guest-view/39A3MVWP47JCB
Those unable to donate at this time are encouraged to help by sharing the link and spreading the word.
