Police stop over unbuckled seat belts leads to chaotic arrest and federal civil rights suit
A police stop of a family in Hammond, Indiana, over two unbuckled seat belts last month ended in emotional chaos after the officers broke a window and used an electronic stun gun on a passenger.
What exactly led to the escalation is in dispute: A federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the police department says the driver and an adult passenger, after initially cooperating with requests to provide identification, sought help by requesting a police supervisor and calling the department on a cellphone because they became fearful for their safety, according to the Chicago Tribune (sub. req.) and NBC Chicago.
The family was en route to a Chicago hospital to visit the mother of the driver, Lisa Mahone. Her boyfriend, Jamal Jones, was the passenger.
After Jones refused to exit the vehicle, police busted out a passenger window, spewing shards of glass on a 7-year-old and a 14-year-old in the back seat, then twice used an electronic stun gun on Jones, once after he was on the ground, the suit says. On a cellphone video recorded by the 14-year-old, the adults can be heard protesting and at least one person begins loudly sobbing as the car window is broken.
Police contend that the officers acted appropriately by breaking the window and stunning and arresting Jones because he dropped his hand below a console in the front seat, in what could have been an attempt to reach for a gun. A police report also states that Mahone put the vehicle into drive and was moving forward; the suit says police had told Mahone that a stop strip was placed in front of the car to prevent this. Police never alleged that they found a gun in the car; police and a law firm representing the department declined to discuss the Sept. 24 incident in detail, the Tribune reported.
Police also have a video, but have not released it.
Both adults face seat belt cases and Jones was charged as well with resisting and failure to aid an officer. The lawsuit alleges the police officers used excessive force and have a history of doing so, among other allegations.
Police said requiring a passenger to provide identification is commonplace, but attorney Jack Crawford, who practices in Indianapolis, tells the Tribune that Jones would have been within his rights to refuse to do so.
“He had no obligation to do anything, but if he starts reaching around, they can restrict his reach,” Crawford said, and police also had a right to take reasonable measures to maintain safety.
“If he was not obeying their commands, that gets real interesting,” Crawford told the newspaper.
The video recorded by the 14-year-old passenger of the incident, below, was released by Kurtz Law Offices.
