By Meredith Colias-Pete
Post-Tribune (Merrillville, Ind.)
JASPER COUNTY, Ind. — An Indiana special prosecutor said Thursday he will not charge a Jasper County Sheriff’s deputy who killed a former Jan. 6 defendant during a traffic stop last month.
A 10-minute released bodycam video appeared to show Matthew Huttle , 42, of Hobart , feared getting arrested and violating his parole. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting was “legally justified,” saying Huttle ignored the officer’s orders and went for a gun, Special Prosecutor Chris Vawter said in a statement.
Huttle was pulled over in a gold Ford Windstar minivan just before 4:30 p.m. local time on Jan. 26 on State Road 14 , east of CR 475 East in Jasper County for speeding. Huttle told the officer he had just left church and his mom’s cemetery, according to the video.
Huttle disclosed that he “stormed the Capitol” and was “waiting on my pardon.”
“Really,” the officer responds.
“I can’t really afford to get in any trouble right now.” Huttle says.
Huttle told the officer he was driving without a license and moved back to Indiana from Idaho to wait on a hardship license. A dog is heard in the minivan.
“I’m just in the middle of everything right now,” Huttle says.
The officer gets the title, then returns to his squad car and calls for backup. He returns and asks Huttle to step outside.
They talk behind his minivan. The officer says he can give him a break for speeding, but has to arrest him for being a habitual traffic violator. Huttle runs back to his vehicle to get a gun, the video shows.
“Don’t you do it, buddy,” the officer says.
Huttle and the deputy briefly struggle, as Huttle appears to grab a gun.
“I’m shooting myself,” Huttle said.
“No, no, no, no,” the officer says, then he shoots Huttle multiple times as he backs up.
The interaction appeared to take about 10 seconds from the time Huttle ran, according to the video.
Investigators later found the loaded 9mm gun and more ammunition in the vehicle. Police said body cam footage backed up their account.
Indiana State Police said they conducted a “thorough investigation” before submitting the case to Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office, who declined to press charges.
Four men, including Huttle, with Northwest Indiana ties were among the more than 1,500 people pardoned by Trump last week for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 .
Huttle was there and served six months in prison for trespassing. Huttle went to Washington D.C. with his uncle Dale Huttle , 73, of Crown Point .
In court filings, defense lawyer Andrew Hemmer wrote in November 2023 that Matthew Huttle was a journeyman carpenter, whose 20-year struggle with alcoholism fueled many of his past crimes, which included a battery case, multiple DUI busts, and driving as a habitual traffic offender.
His health deteriorated to cirrhosis and he quit drinking a few years earlier. The lawyer claimed that Dale called his nephew for a ride to Washington D.C. ; Matthew was not particularly political and he had “nothing better” to do after recently getting out of jail for a DUI, the lawyer wrote.
“It was a reckless decision resulting from Matt’s stupidity and failing to think through his actions,” Hemmer wrote.
Dale Huttle served about six months of a 2 1/2-year sentence at FCI Thomson, a federal prison near the Illinois - Iowa border, before he was released on Jan. 20 , according to a federal inmate search. His original release date was in December 2026 .
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Alexandra Kukulka contributed.
mcolias@post-trib.com
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