FAIRHOPE – A veteran law enforcement officer was shot and killed Friday responding to a call for assistance. A second officer remained in fair and stable condition Monday morning at the USA Medical Center.

Around 4 p.m. on Nov. 23, three Baldwin County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to 11830 Mallard Lane in the Marlow community. The officers were there to help an ambulance crew subdue Michael Jansen, said Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Hoss Mack.

“The individual was found to be distraught, possibly suffering from a mental issue,” said Mack. “There were several shots fired, with both Deputy Scott Ward and Sgt. Curtis Summerlin being hit. Both were immediately attended to by the paramedics already on the scene.”

The injured officers were airlifted to USA Medical Center. Ward, an 18-year law enforcement veteran, died from his wounds. Summerlin was struck in the arm and leg. He underwent a second surgery Monday morning for the injuries.  A third officer, Deputy Rob Lindell, was not struck by the gunfire, said Mack. All three deputies were wearing bulletproof vests.

Jansen was shot and killed when the officers returned fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation of the shooting was turned over to the Baldwin County Major Crime Task Force, which is made up of the sheriff’s office, the District Attorney and all the police departments in the county. Daphne Police Detective Judson Beedy is heading the investigation.

“The officers were there to diffuse the situation,” said Beedy. “There was quite a long conversation between Mr. Jansen and the deputies. Mr. Jansen never left his residence, until the shooting started. It appears the first shots were fired from inside.”

The deputies did not see the handgun until Jensen drew and fired at close range. Jensen was just inside the door and the deputies were standing on the porch. During the gun battle, all four men were only 8 feet away from each other, said Beedy.

Jensen had been committed at least twice to Searcy Mental Hospital. Beedy said Jensen’s mother, Helen Jensen, called 911 Friday and asked that a medical unit check on him.

“He had been acting irate and in an altered mental state for the last few days and she couldn’t reach him,” said Beedy.

It was the ambulance crew that called for deputies to help. Mack said normally, only two officers would have been dispatched.

“It was a relatively slow day,” said Mack. “Deputy Ward was the closest so he took the call and Lindell was the backup. Sgt Summerlin is the shift captain. He happened to be in the area. Being a leader, he went to help.”

Beedy said the investigation is ongoing. More than 200 pieces of evidence were recovered at the scene. Officers found some marijuana and paraphernalia inside the house. Behind the house in a barn, there was a room that appeared to have been used to grow marijuana. The barn had recently been expanded, possibly to grow more marijuana. Beedy said it could be six months before they get back a toxicology report from Jansen’s autopsy.

Investigators are also trying to determine how Jansen, with a history of mental illness, obtained the gun. Beedy said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is trying to track down the history of the weapon.

“This was a tragic incident,” said Mack, “and it will linger in our minds for the rest of our lives.

“We have 300 employees, but are still a small enough department to know the first names of everyone. This is the first in the line of duty death since Oct. 20, 1987 when Howard Dutton was killed in Robertsdale.”

Mack said that he had already been contacted by a number of state officials, including the Attorney General and the governor about attending Ward’s funeral Tuesday.

While the shooting is still under investigation, both Mack and District Attorney Hallie Dixon said it appears the officers acted correctly.

“I have seen nothing that would indicate wrongdoing on the part of the deputies,” said Dixon.