Lawnmower driver has history of trouble

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Eric Tendam, the man who was involved in a police-action shooting Friday on Purdue's campus, has had run-ins with law enforcement before.

Tendam was shot by police officers on Friday after allegedly threatening them with a handgun. Officers were attempting to get Tendam to pull over after he was allegedly observed running a stop sign on a lawnmower.

( Read Affidavit of Probable Cause - PDF )

West Lafayette Police Chief Jason Dombkowski said Tendam has had several encounters with various local law enforcement agencies, and a public search of Tendam's history shows minor run-ins with the law over the past 20 years.

Charges include an arrest for driving while intoxicated, and a pending court date for driving on a suspended license.

One of Tendam's most recent cases stemmed from a fire in October of 2008, when police said he attempted to stop firefighters from putting out a blaze he allegedly started at this home.

Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Pat Harrington says Tandem was never prosecuted with arson charges, because Tendam's involvement in the fire did not constitute arson charges.

"In Indiana the law on arson requires that you knowingly or intentionally damage property of another. In this case, he burned his own property," said Harrington.

Tendam was taken to the Tippecanoe County Jail this afternoon, after being released from an Indianapolis area hospital.

Lafayette attorney Daniel Moore has represented Tendam in the past on a driving while intoxicated conviction, as well as the dropped arson case. Moore said there was also a question of Tendam's mental state of mind at the time of the fire.

"I mean on the court record we filed a notice of mental disease or defect. That doesn't mean you admit that you committed the crime, but it basically says you don't believe your guilty of the crime because you weren't capable of forming the correct intent at the time," said Moore.

Moore said he's had no contact with Tendam since Friday, but said the shooting incident came as a surprise.

"I recognized the name when I saw him yeah, it was shocking to me. In my interactions with him he's been very pleasant and easy to deal with," said Moore.

Moore said Tendam has not approached him for representation on Friday's incident. The county now has 72 hours to file formal charges against Tendam.