By Dylan Stableford
A federal lawsuit filed Monday accuses
Indiana police of excessive force after officers smashed a woman's car window
with children inside, tased an unarmed passenger and dragged him out of the
vehicle during a routine traffic stop last month.
Police say they feared the passenger might
have a weapon, after he refused to step out of the vehicle and reached toward
the rear seats.
The incident was captured on video both by police
and by the alleged victims. At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 24, Hammond
police pulled over Lisa Mahone as she drove with a friend, Jamal Jones, and her
two children, ages 7 and 14, to visit her mother in the hospital.
According to the lawsuit filed Monday in
Indiana, an officer told Mahone she was being pulled over for not wearing a
seatbelt and asked to see both her driver's license and Jones's identification.
Mahone produced her license, but Jones told the officer he did not have his
license because he had been ticketed for not paying his insurance, and offered
to show them the ticket. The officer refused, according to Jones, and ordered
him to step out of the car. According to the suit, Jones refused, fearing
"the officers would harm him."
But Hammond police say Jones "refused to
lower the window more than a small amount" and refused to provide his
name. The officer then called for backup, requesting a video-equipped squad
car.
It was around this time, police say, that
Mahone shifted the car into drive. When officers warned her they had placed in
front of the vehicle a "stop strip" that would puncture her tires,
she pleaded with them to let her go.
