A Hammond couple made national news a year ago when they sued the local police department and released a video that they say showed the excessive force used against them during a traffic stop.
But the lawsuit remains quiet a year after Jamal Jones and Lisa Mahone filed it as the case remains on hold pending a criminal case against Jones.
However, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. remained insistent that he does not want to settle the case.
“I can tell you I’m still not interested in settling that case for even one dollar,” the mayor said.
McDermott said he continued to support his police officers and the actions they took that day.
Dana Kurtz, attorney for the plaintiffs in the civil suit, could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit stems from a traffic stop that Hammond police officers made when they pulled over Mahone’s car on Sept. 25, 2014, for a seat belt violation. The incident grew, however, when Jones, who was in the front passenger seat, told police he didn’t have identification on him. After a stalemate that lasted for several minutes, police ordered Jones from the car, but he didn’t comply, the video of the incident shows. Jones said soon after the incident that he didn’t get out because he was afraid of the police.
After about 13 minutes, police broke the window by Jones, used a stun gun on him and pulled him from the vehicle. Police said at the time that they were concerned because they saw him reach into the back of the vehicle, but Jones and Mahone say in the lawsuit it was excessive force.
Mahone’s teenage son recorded a portion of the traffic stop from the back seat of the vehicle with his cell phone, and the video spread across the Internet and national media during a time when other videos of police using force had become a national topic.
But the civil case went quiet after about a month. Jones was charged in Lake County Superior Court with resisting law enforcement, and U.S. Magistrate Judge John Martin ordered in November that the civil lawsuit be stayed pending the outcome of the criminal case.
Little has happened in the criminal case since then. According to court records, both sides have exchanged evidence, and Lake County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Schiralli finally set a trial date of Feb. 2 for the criminal case. A pretrial conference is scheduled for December.
The judge also issued a gag order in the case in August on all parties associated with it.
Martin reaffirmed on Sept. 23 his order to stay the case and ordered the parties to give an update by Nov. 23.
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