Indiana Couple Sues Cops After Traffic Stop Ends in Tasering

An Indiana driver has produced disturbing cellphone footage to bolster a federal lawsuit against local police, alleging that the officers used excessive force during a routine traffic stop when one shattered the window of her car and shocked her boyfriend with a Taser in front of her children.

The cellphone footage, recorded by the 14-year-old son of Lisa Mahone from the backseat of the vehicle and first obtained by Fox 32 News, shows only the tail end of the encounter. The officer can be heard telling the passenger, Jamal Jones, to open the door, before suddenly smashing open the window and tasering Jones.

Lawyers for the couple alleged that the incident was evidence of a wider failure by the city to discipline officers for unlawful use of force. “The City has failed to adequately investigate allegations of officer misconduct, has failed to adequately discipline officers for the use of excessive force, and has failed to adequately train its officers on the proper use of force,” read a complaint filed on behalf of the plaintiffs.

The Hammond police department defended the officer’s conduct, telling Fox 32 News that the situation escalated after Jones refused to show identification or exit the vehicle. The couple filed suit against the police on Monday.

[Fox 32]