LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Three Lafayette residents involved in a May incident where police officers broke open the front door of a home on suspicion of a domestic battery incident have filed a civil tort claim in an effort to seek damages.
A civil tort claim, also known as a tort, is a civil court proceeding where a claimant seeks compensation for damages caused by another person's actions. This permits the redress of wrong done to a person before a formal lawsuit, allowing for monetary settlement outside of court.
Lafayette attorney Kirk Freeman, who is representing the three alleged victims in the case, said in an email to the Journal and Courier that the Lafayette Police Department officers were "acting as if they are from a bad dream.
"This armed home invasion upon 1923 Maple St. last May is the alarm clock for serious reform," Freeman wrote. "We must turn them from feral predators of our rights to disciplined, law-abiding champions of our rights. This process starts now."
William Neal, Taair Neal and Tammera "Tammy" Cooper gave notice to the city of Lafayette and the Lafayette Police Department of their intention to file a formal tort claim alleging the violation of civil and Constitutional rights, due process rights violations, false arrest, false imprisonment, intimidation, First Amendment violations, negligence, gross negligence and failure to supervise.
The tort stems from May 21, when about 11:30 p.m., Lafayette police arrived at William Neal's home at 1923 Maple St. in response to a possible domestic battery for which police later said they had compelling evidence.
“When the cops had me outside, he was telling me it was a domestic violence thing," Cooper told the Journal and Courier after the incident. "They believed someone was seen harmed inside the residence, and they couldn’t prove that with a closed door.”
According to the tort, an officer knocked on the door and then ran away from the porch, retreating to the yard where the home security camera could not see him. William Neal and Cooper were still awake and sitting in the front living room, while Taair Neal was asleep in his room in the basement.
William Neal asked what the officer wanted, according to the tort, when the officer returned to the porch to explain through the home's intercom system that he'd received a call from their residence. The document said the Lafayette Police Department later admitted that no call had ever been made.
Continuing to communicate through the home's intercom system, William Neal and Cooper denied a call had ever been made and that no one inside the home needed the police, the tort said. The officer on the other side of the door was then joined by half a dozen fellow Lafayette police officers, carrying shoulder weapons that included assault style-guns and ballistic shields.
A Lafayette police sergeant appeared, stating through the intercom that he "was afraid of being shot and that it would not work out well for the residents of the house and that thus they should be in fear of the police," the document said.
William Neal then demanded to see a warrant, the tort said, and Cooper told officers that she was uninjured. Yet officers propped open the home's screen door to allow for the use of a battering ram, breaking the door open.
According to the tort, police addressed William Neal as "Michael," who is a son of William's, and Cooper as "Leslie," who is the mother of Michael's child.
At this point, Taair had awoken from the basement and began recording police with his cell phone. Police allegedly continued telling the three that the Lafayette police had received a call for a possible domestic battery, which William Neal continued to deny.
Police then told the three residents that they had a video of someone being beaten at the Maple Street home's address. But according to the tort, the video in question was seven years old and had not been filmed in that home, nor was it filmed in Tippecanoe County.
During the incident, according to the tort, officers dragged Cooper from the home and into the front yard. Officers then pulled Taair Neal from the home, along with his phone, into the front yard as well. An officer allegedly took Taair Neal's phone away from him, placing the device in the Velcro pocket of his assault vest.
William and Taair Neal were arrested and bonded out of the Tippecanoe County jail for resisting law enforcement, but the Tippecanoe County prosecutor has declined to file criminal charges, according to the tort.
Quoted in the filing, one of the claimants recalled an unknown officer stating to the pair, "Get any street lawyer you want in Lafayette to fight this, but you are not beating this ride to jail."
After the incident, Lafayette police records were then created to show that a Leslie Harris was present at the 1923 Maple St. address that evening, which the tort says was untrue.
After being bonded out from jail, the tort said, Taair Neal found that his cell phone was not at the jail nor the Maple Street home but was found on 18th Street, which would have been on the way to the jail.
The extent of damages cannot be precisely calculated, according to the tort, but the losses include embarrassment, loss of liberty, emotional distress and loss of Constitutional rights.
The tort alleges William and Taair Neal both suffered physical injuries to their wrists and arms during their arrests, while Cooper was injured on her arm and leg while being pulled from the home.
“I actually want their jobs," William Neal told the Journal and Courier in May. "They need better officers out here. I pay taxes. There’s no way I should be paying my taxes to people like that that’s being tyrants and bullies."
The tort seeks damages that include the termination of all officers involved in the incident; a statement issued and signed by Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski acknowledging the claimant's civil rights were violated and formally apologizing; and the passing of a resolution in the city calling for voluntary federal oversight and monitoring into the pattern and practices of the Lafayette Police Department.
The document requests monetary damages of $300,000 to be split evenly between the three within 60 days of the tort notice.
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal and Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.
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