Hammond, Ind., police officers are under fire after a lawsuit about a violent traffic stop, caught on video, was filed Monday.
Officers stopped Lisa Mahone on Sept. 24 for not driving with a seatbelt on while friend Jamal Jones and Mahone's two children were in the passenger seats according to the suit, The Chicago Tribune reported.
The litigation charges that the officers acted with "malice" and "reckless indifference."
Hammond police claim they used aggression after one of the passengers chose not to get out of the vehicle. The officers involved also became concerned that the person could have a weapon. No such item was discovered in the vehicle.
According to the document, Mahone showed her license. Jones could not, however, since he previously received a ticket for not paying his car insurance.
Jones claims the law enforcement official used his gun "for no reason" when he got the ticket from his bag to show the ticket to the officer.
Police state that Jones did not want to roll down his window all the way down to supply them with the ticket, and told them he "was not" interested in doing their job for them.
The officer then asked Jones to provide a piece of paper with his name, and called for another member of the force to help him with the task after he reportedly ignored several more of his requests.
The initial officer on scene demanded one of the passengers display his hands and get out of the vehicle after seeing him put his left hand in the back of the car's center console. Jones claims he did not want to get out of the car because he was afraid one of the officers might hurt him.
Mahone then put then began driving the vehicle until officers told her that her tires might become flat after they put a "stop strip" near her vehicle that pokes holes into tires.
Mahone's 14-year-old son then called the police department to detail the incident while the family was going to Chicago's Stroger Hospital to see her ill mom.
In the video, officers then reportedly remove Jones from the car. Mahone's daughter also cries in the backseat of the vehicle. This stems from the lawsuit which states pieces of glass come into contact with the children.
Officers arrested Jones, and cited him for resisting law enforcement and refusal to aid an officer, The Tribune reported. Mahone received citations for not wearing her seatbelt, and was given permission to leave the scene.
Hammond Police are accused of excessive force, battery and false arrest in the lawsuit, The Tribune reported. The document indicates that the officers' actions "were taken intentionally with malice, willfulness, and reckless indifference to the rights and safety of plaintiffs."
The officials state however that any of them "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.
The Hammond police department also filmed footage of the stop.
