A cellphone video showing Indiana police officers demanding a passenger get out of a vehicle, smashing a window and pulling the passenger out was released as part support of a lawsuit filed in a federal court Tuesday.
The incident happened in September when police pulled over Lisa Mahone for not wearing a seat belt in Hammond, a city about 25 miles east of Chicago. Things escalated when officers asked the passenger, Jamal Jones, for his identification, which he did not have.
When Jones failed to produce his ID, things went from bad to worse.
An officer can be seen smashing the passenger side window in the video, which was taken by Mahone’s 14-year-old son from the back seat. Jones was then tasered by the officer, dragged to the ground and handcuffed.
However, Mahone had already called 911 because she was frightened by the officers’ actions, which included them drawing their guns.
Jones said he tried to explain to the officers that he did not have his ID because it had been taken in a prior traffic stop when it was discovered that he did not have valid car insurance. Jones said he even tried to give the officer the traffic ticket with his information, but the officer would not accept it.
However, according to a statement by Hammond police spokesman Lt. Richard Hoyda, Jones refused to get out of the car as instructed by the officers and the officers were concerned for their safety when they saw Jones “repeatedly reach towards the rear seats of the vehicle.”
Jones was arrested and charged with failure to aid an officer and resisting law enforcement.
The lawsuit, which points out that two of the officers had previously been sued over allegations of excessive force and unlawful arrest, accuses the officers of excessive force, false arrest, and assault and battery, among other charges.
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