AP investigates use of significant force in Evansville law enforcement

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — The Evansville Police Department is under scrutiny by the Associated Press for its use of what the AP calls significant force.

The news outlet released its findings this week, with a deeper look into the department’s response, following a series of deaths and injuries, including the death of Vanderburgh County Sheriff Deputy Asson Hacker in 2020 and the injuries of the officer who trained after him, Tanner Corum.

Video obtained by ABC News through the Freedom of Information Act shows what law enforcement calls “the big fight,” a training exercise Hacker and Corum both participated in. The video shows the trainer on top of Corum, punching and pinning him to the ground, with an arm around his neck. You can see Corum struggling to get free.

The Associated Press interviewed five experts who say the training had similar “defensive tactics” drills used elsewhere, including some that have been linked to serious injuries and deaths involving excessive force.

In Hacker’s fight, the video shows him fighting the instructor for seven minutes and shows the instructor putting Hacker in headlocks and tossing him against a padded gym wall. After placing handcuffs on the instructor, Hacker collapsed. He later died at the hospital.

Lockyear told AP the combat training had “absolutely” contributed to Hacker’s death by causing him to strenuously exert himself. But he ruled Hacker’s death as natural, not a homicide, accident, or undetermined because of Hacker’s sickle cell trait. A week later after the training, Corum attended Hacker’s funeral in a wheelchair.

The article says Corum sustained a spinal injury in his neck that caused limb weakness. It also says he could not walk without help and was hospitalized for two weeks.

AP’s article says Corum may file a lawsuit and had to quit his job in the record department because of his injuries. AP also says its findings show a culture of aggression that persists at some police departments, with officers being taught to view those they encounter as deadly threats.

The article goes on to report that culture and training could have played a role in EPD arrests and responses that resulted in injuries and deaths dating back to 2019.

You can read the full article here.

Eyewitness News has reached out to the Evansville Police Department, Vanderburgh County Attorney, and Corum’s attorney. We are waiting to hear back.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW).