http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/10/07/hammond-family-sues-police-for-excessive-force-during-traffic-stop/Hammond Family Sues Police For Excessive Force During Traffic Stop
October 7, 2014 7:14 AM
CHICAGO (CBS) – A northwest Indiana family has sued Hammond police, claiming officers used excessive force when they broke a car window and used a stun gun on Jamal Jones during a traffic stop last month.
CBS 2’s Jeremy Ross reports Jones, his girlfriend Lisa Mahone, and Mahone’s two children were driving to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County on Sept. 25, after Mahone got a call from doctors telling her that her mother was in grave condition.
Hammond police pulled their car over because Mahone was not wearing her seatbelt, according to the lawsuit.
Meantime, Mahone’s 14-year-old son Joseph was sitting in the back seat with his younger sister, and began recording the encounter with police on his cell phone.
Mahone claimed she admitted not wearing a seatbelt, and asked to be given a ticket right away, so she could get to the hospital to see her dying mother, but Hammond officers Patrick Vicari and Charles Turner demanded to see Jones’ identification.
Jones told police he did not have his ID, because he had recently been given a traffic ticket, according to the lawsuit. When he reached into the back seat to get the ticket, the officers drew their guns, and refused to take the ticket as a form of ID.
The family’s attorney has released a three-minute YouTube video (above) showing part of the traffic stop.
In the video, one of the officers can be heard telling Jones “Just so you know, we’ve got a camera recording here, you’re on a body mike, I suggest you come out of the car.â€
Jones responds by asking to see a “white shirt,†meaning a supervising officer, and saying “I just gave you my information, I don’t know what’s going on right now.â€
The lawsuit claimed Jones refused to get out of the vehicle, because he feared for his safety.
“Because of the officers’ aggressive demeanor and lack of any reasonable basis to believe that Jamal had committed any crime, Jamal and Lisa felt that they were in imminent danger,†the lawsuit claimed. “The officers had no reasonable basis to believe that anyone in the vehicle was a threat. The vehicles’ windows were clear and the officers had an unobstructed view of every person within the vehicle.â€
Mahone claimed she called 911 to request a supervisor, while the officers continued ordering Jones out of the car. Police eventually broke Jones’ window with a large tool, shocked him with a stun gun, and dragged him out of the vehicle, according to the lawsuit. Officers then handcuffed and arrested Jones for resisting arrest.
“At no point during this entire encounter did Jamal physically resist the officers in any way,†the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit claimed Mahone’s son and 9-year-old daughter, Janiya, were hurt by the shattered glass from the broken car window.
The family and their attorney were scheduled to discuss the lawsuit Tuesday morning in Chicago.
The lawsuit claimed Vicari has been sued three other times for excessive force, and Turner has been sued one other time, but they have not been disciplined, and instead have been promoted to leadership positions.
You can read the full lawsuit here.
https://cbschicago.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/hammond-lawsuit.pdfHammond police said they planned to respond to the allegations later Tuesday