Cops Who 'Tasered' Man Accused of Excessive Force in the Past By MEGHAN KENEALLY and JAMES HILL
Oct 8, 2014 Courtesy Mahone Family
Both of the Hammond, Indiana, police officers videotaped during a recent traffic stop that led to their breaking a car window and firing a stun gun at a passenger have been accused of using excessive force in the past, according to court documents.
In the most recent dispute, Lt. Patrick Vicari smashed the side window and Sgt. Charles Turner used the stun gun on Jamal Jones, the man riding in the front passenger seat, last month after, police said, Jones repeatedly refused to write his name down on a piece of paper and hand it to the officers. When he reached toward the back of the vehicle -- which, according to a lawsuit he filed this week, he did to retrieve a ticket that proved his identity -- he "was Tasered," the police report states.
Jones Monday sued Vicari, Turner, the City of Hammond and any other officers who were involved in the incident.
Vicari has been involved in three prior cases and Turner in a separate one in which they were accused of using excessive force, among other accusations. Each of the cases was settled before trial without either of the officers admitting wrongdoing, according to court records.
"Why is it that he's still there? said Yolanda Gray, who alleges in one of the three cases that Vicari tackled her to the ground in 2006 while looking for suspected criminals in her neighborhood. "Why is it that he has been promoted? Why is it that this is still going on?"
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