Shooting victim was under emergency detention order

A man shot to death early Saturday morning was under an emergency detention order and any officer who encountered the troubled Derek Henderson should have taken him into custody for emergency treatment, according to Columbus and Bartholomew County authorities.

Columbus police report that they were called to Henderson’s home in the 1800 block of Home Avenue three times on Friday. The first trip at 11:08 a.m. Friday morning, was requested by the VA to take Henderson to the hospital for treatment. But officers could not find Henderson. He refused assistance during a police visit later that afternoon.

The emergency detention order was issued at just before 5 p.m. Friday afternoon. But a third call came at 6:21 p.m. Friday evening with both Columbus police and Bartholomew County deputies called to the home.  Police did not take Henderson into custody and left after determining they were no longer needed.

Sheriff Matt Myers says he is investigating the circumstances surrounding his deputies’ unsuccessful efforts to detain Henderson. And the sheriff says that it was after those unsuccessful efforts that Henderson left his home and was later shot to death.

At about 1 a.m. Saturday morning, police were called to the 2000 block of Home Avenue on reports of shots being fired. A homeowner, 55-year-old John Noonan, told police that he was confronted in his residence by a man he didn’t know who was carrying a baseball bat. Noonan opened fire, striking the 38-year-old Henderson three times.

Henderson was pronounced dead at Columbus Regional Hospital from the shots to his head, chest and abdomen.

An internal investigation is ongoing in the sheriff’s department.