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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA woman is suing the Scott County Sheriff’s Department for failing to reasonably supervise a sheriff’s deputy who she says repeatedly harassed her and committed suicide in front of her after she broke up with him and rejected his attempts to get back together.
The lawsuit was filed April 23 in the Clark County Circuit Court on behalf of plaintiff Hannah Miles and her minor child.
In her suit, Miles said the department failed to do anything about Sheriff’s Deputy Donovan McCutcheon’s reckless and dangerous behavior. McCutcheon was in his third year with the department when he died on June 29, 2025, at the age of 32.
Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin and Miles’s attorney did not immediately respond to The Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment about the suit.
According to court documents, Miles was at one point romantically involved with McCutcheon, who served as a detective with the department.
In her lawsuit, Miles said she received disturbing information from a friend regarding McCutcheon’s history and conduct with other women, and she informed him that she no longer wanted to see him.
According to Miles, McCutcheon refused to accept the rejection and proceeded to harass her and her child, including driving by the plaintiff’s home in his department-issued vehicle while on duty, calling her from his department-issued phone and other devices, and appearing uninvited to her child’s sports practices in his work uniform.
After Miles denied another attempt from McCutcheon to rekindle their relationship, McCutcheon drove to her home in his department uniform and used his department-issued firearm to commit suicide in front of her, her lawsuit says.
Miles said McCutcheon knew the child was in the home when he killed himself, according to court documents. She said her child continues to show anxiety and ask questions about McCutcheon’s death.
The case is Hannah Miles v. Scott County Sheriff’s Department, 10C06-2604-CT-000067.
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