Allen County Sheriff Troy Hershberger accepted the resignation of Cpl. Ben Fries.
It comes around a week after the sheriff requested the Allen County Sheriff Merit Board fire the 15-year veteran officer for what Hershberger described as “unbecoming and immoral conduct.”
In December 2024, Fries fatally shot a 51-year-old Huntertown man who had been having a mental health crisis. The man was armed with two handguns and during the standoff with police pointed one of the weapons at officers.
Since then, Fries had reportedly made comments to other officers and members of the public that seemed to speak lightly of shooting people.
Earlier this week, additional comments made by Fries were reported to Hershberger and then to the merit board.
Fries was a member of the SWAT team, a patrol supervisor and owns a consulting company that provides firearms and protection training to churches and individuals.
He is the son of current Allen County Councilman and former Sheriff Ken Fries.
