Indianapolis, Oct 3 (AP) Two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers indicted for shooting a Black man who was sleeping in a car outside his grandmother's house have entered not guilty pleas.

Officers Carl Chandler and Alexander Gregory entered pleas to charges of battery and criminal recklessness charges.

Also Read | Ex-PM Nawaz Sharif Books Ticket for Return to Pakistan on October 2, Confirms Brother Shehbaz Sharif.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced on Friday that a grand jury had indicted Gregory and Chandler in connection with the December 31 predawn shooting of Anthony Maclin on the city's north side.

The officers' attorneys issued a statement on Friday, saying the officers acted in accordance with their training to defend their lives when a subject grabbed a gun and raised it toward them."

Also Read | UK Man Dies of Brain Tumour After Doctors Misdiagnose It As Appendicitis And Dismiss Brain Scan 'Anomaly' As 'Computer Error'.

"Video, testimonial, and other evidence will establish the legality of their actions,” attorneys John Kautzman and Edward Merchant said in the statement.

Maclin's attorney, Stephen Wagner, has said the officers fired at least 30 shots, hitting his client three times and leaving him hospitalised for 17 days for six surgeries.

Police had found Maclin asleep with a gun next to him in the driver's seat before officers knocked on a car window and said, “Police. Hands up,” the police department said in a news release at the time. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)