Shocking video is emerging from Indiana, where a police officer bashed in the passenger side window of a car and then used a Taser on a man who refused to get out of the vehicle. It all began as a routine traffic stop over a seat belt violation involving the 47-year-old female driver, but police claim the passenger, a friend of the driver, kept reaching into the back seat. A federal lawsuit has now been filed over the Sept. 24 incident, alleging the police acted with malice and reckless indifference. According to the lawsuit, the man refused to exit the vehicle out of fear he would be harmed by the police officers. The lawsuit claims shards of broken class hit the drivers 14-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter in the back seat. The teen recorded the incident on his phone. Watch the video above and read more on the lawsuit from the Chicago Tribune: Police said the officers took the action fearing the occupants of the vehicle may have possessed a weapon, and seeing the passenger repeatedly reach towards the rear seats of the vehicle. According to the lawsuit and the police statement, Jones was arrested and issued citations for resisting law enforcement and refusal to aid an officer. Mahone was cited for not wearing her seatbelt and was allowed to leave. The lawsuit accuses Hammond police of excessive force, battery and false arrest, saying the officers actions were taken intentionally with malice, willfulness, and reckless indifference to the rights and safety of plaintiffs. But police, in their statement, said officers who make legal traffic stops are allowed to ask passengers inside of a stopped vehicle for identification and to request that they exit a stopped vehicle for the officer’s safety without a requirement of reasonable suspicion. When the passenger displayed movements inside of the stopped vehicle that included placing his hand in places where the officer could not see, officers’ concerns for their safety were heightened, it added. Hammond police said an officer also recorded the incident.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 08:17:17 +0000
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