Three civil rights lawsuits filed against Elkhart Police

 

ELKHART, Ind. -- A wrongful conviction, a wrongful charging, and a conspiracy to oust an officer.  Three lawsuits have been filed in Elkhart by the civil rights law firm Loevy and Loevy.

Those attorneys say the City of Elkhart is on its way to becoming the wrongful conviction capital of America.

One lawsuit alleges DeWayne Dunn was wrongfully convicted for the 2008 death of Angel Torres. But Attorney Elliot Slosar claims it was an accidental death.

"The complaint tells this story of how police and the prosecutor fabricated false evidence in order to wrongfully charge and wrongfully convict DeWayne Dunn of a crime that, not only he did not commit, but for a death that was not even a crime," he said.

Dunn spent 12 years in prison until he was finally exonerated in 2022.

"Elkhart is a town of roughly 50,000 people. To date, there have six exonerations," Slosar said. "It is already in the top five cities in America for wrongful convictions per capita."

It's a trend Slosar says is too common in Elkhart.

"People of color are more likely to get wrongfully convicted in Elkhart than in any other city in Indiana," he said.

The second lawsuit alleges Hahkeem Layman was wrongfully charged after a 2020 traffic stop by an officer from Elkhart Police.

"Hahkeem, because he was coming home from work, didn't have anything illegal on him," Slosar said. "He wasn't doing anything wrong at all, and so there wasn't a basis to charge him with any of that. And so the officer charged him with resisting arrest, based off his false description of the interaction."

 A judge found that officer not to be credible and Layman's charges were dismissed.  

"He lost his job, he lost his means of taking care of his children, and every time he sees an Elkhart police officer, he's now worried, 'is this person going to falsely arrest me?'"  Slosar said.

The next lawsuit involves a former officer from Elkhart Police, Joy Phillips.

"Joy is the only police officer I've ever represented out of the Elkhart Police Department, out of anywhere in Indiana," Slosar said. 

Slosar claims officer Joy Phillips was asked to write a search warrant but refused, believing it to be illegal misconduct. This cost her her job. 

"Joy refused to help others at the department violate the constitutional rights of Elkhart citizens," Slosar said. "She was retaliated against."  

The City of Elkhart released the following statement: 

“When Mayor Roberson took office in 2020, he did so with a commitment to reform and accountability in the Elkhart Police Department, and a commitment to raise the level of professionalism throughout the ranks of the Department.

All of the lawsuits center upon the conduct of former Elkhart policer officers. While the City does not concede the claims of any of the suits, these suits are not reflective of today’s Elkhart Police Department.

One of the lawsuits predates the Roberson administration. The other two lawsuits involve former Elkhart officers fired by the Roberson administration for misconduct and for failing to perform at the level of professionalism required by this administration. Their terminations are perfect examples of the City of Elkhart now holding its officers to the higher standards required by the Mayor and his appointed Chief.

As we hold officers who fall below the high standards required by this administration accountable, we also appreciate and commend the officers whose conduct reflects those high standards envisioned for the City Elkhart.”

ABC57 did not get a response from the Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office.