Driver accused of pulling gun on police during traffic stop

A North Vernon man is being accused of pulling a gun on an officer during a traffic stop Thursday.

According to the North Vernon Police Department, an officer stopped a vehicle for speeding at 8:15 p.m. Thursday night in the 800 block of State Street. While talking with the driver, the officer noticed the smell of alcohol and asked the driver to leave the vehicle. When the driver got out, the officer had to ask the driver repeatedly to remove his hands from his pockets for safety reasons.

The driver refused field sobriety tests but a breath test revealed he had a .08 blood alcohol level. The driver, identified as 54-year-old Andy L. Edgar allegedly admitted to drinking several beers, but when the officer began reading him his rights, police say he told officers he wasn’t going back to jail, pulled a pistol from his pocket and ran away.

After fighting with officers, injuring one officer’s hand, Edgar was taken into custody. He was taken to Ascension St. Vincent Jennings Hospital to be checked out and then to jail on preliminary felony charges including criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon; resisting law enforcement with a deadly weapon and intimidation with a deadly weapon. He is also being charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated with endangerment and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.