FBI searches Vincennes’ police headquarters, chief on leave
A southwestern Indiana police chief has been placed on paid leave following an FBI search of the city’s police headquarters.
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Over objection, court appoints public defenders to death penalty case
The Indianapolis man facing a possible death penalty for allegedly killing a Southport police officer is scheduled to appear in court Friday with a new legal team, including the former dean of Valparaiso University Law School.
Ohio police officers face discipline in Stormy Daniels arrest
Police in Columbus, Ohio, say five officers from the department’s now-disbanded vice unit face discipline for a raid on a strip club last year that resulted in the arrest of Stormy Daniels.
FBI says it killed Dillinger; family seeking exhumation not convinced
The FBI on Thursday released a statement saying its agents got the right man more than 85 years ago when they fatally shot notorious gangster John Dillinger outside a Chicago theater, as relatives dispute that the body they seek to exhume from an Indianapolis cemetery is his.
Muncie man freed in 2017 alleges wrongful rape conviction
An Indiana man who spent nearly 25 years in prison for a 1992 rape until DNA evidence helped free him alleges in a federal lawsuit that he was wrongfully convicted by authorities who fabricated evidence against him and took advantage of his severe mental health issues.
Denial of last-minute public defender request upheld
A man who was convicted of domestic battery after being denied his request for a public defender has failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his 11th-hour request for counsel should have been granted.
Elkhart officer cleared in man’s car crash death during pursuit
Prosecutors have cleared northern Indiana police in the June car crash death of a man who was fleeing from officers.
Police: Indiana marijuana surge coming from other states
Some Indiana police officers are reporting that they’re seeing an increase in marijuana products, including pot-laced edibles and vaping devices, coming from states where marijuana has been legalized to one degree or another. State Police Sgt. Carey Huls said authorities are observing an increase of specialty marijuana products coming from states such as California or Colorado with established laws permitting their use
Boy who shot trooper dad to get mental health treatment
An Indiana boy who authorities say shot and wounded his state-trooper father because he was upset that his parents took away his video games will get mental health treatment at a secure facility.
COA upholds admitting meth found in Bedford Taco Bell
A man convicted of possessing several grams of meth has lost his appeal to suppress evidence found at his fast food workplace after an anonymous caller alerted authorities. But a concurring judge used the case to “state the obvious” and remind Hoosiers of their right not to talk to police in similar circumstances.
Woman who bought gun used to kill deputy sent to prison
A 13-month prison sentence was handed an Indianapolis woman who purchased the handgun used to kill a Boone County sheriff’s deputy in March 2018.
COA hears free speech Facebook post case involving police threats
Arguments concerning a mother’s free speech rights on Facebook after she was convicted for harassing a police officer opened discussion about the uncharted waters of social media in court before an Indiana appeals court Wednesday.
US attorney general says encryption creates security risk
U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday that increased encryption of data on phones and computers and encrypted messaging apps are putting American security at risk. Barr’s comments at a cybersecurity conference mark a continuing effort by the Justice Department to push tech companies to provide law enforcement with access to encrypted devices and applications during investigations.
COA will hear free speech appeal in Facebook harassment case
An angry mother who made threatening posts on social media toward a police officer after the death of her son is now appealing her harassment conviction, arguing her free speech rights were violated.
Mother: Indiana family will sue cruise company over toddler’s death
There are “a million things” the cruise company could have done to prevent the death of an 18-month-old Indiana girl who fell to her death from an open window on a cruise ship in Puerto Rico, the toddler’s mother said in an interview broadcast Monday. Speaking publicly for the first time since Chloe Wiegand died, her mother, Kimberley Wiegand, told NBC’s “Today ” show that her family will sue Royal Caribbean Cruises for “not having a safer situation on the 11th floor of that cruise ship.”
South Bend police to get body camera upgrades after shooting
The Indiana city where Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is mayor is updating its police officers’ body camera technology following the recent fatal police shooting of a black man. The technology upgrades will mean officers’ body cameras can be activated manually or automatically when a squad car door is opened.
Father of Indiana teen killed in pursuit crash sues police
The father of a 15-year-old boy who was killed in a car crash during a police pursuit is suing two police departments and an officer, alleging that “careless and negligent acts” on their part led directly to his son’s death.
COA: Dog sniff didn’t unlawfully prolong traffic stop
A traffic stop that led to a man’s marijuana convictions was not unlawfully prolonged by a dog sniff, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled, so evidence found as a result of the sniff was not improperly admitted at trial.
South Bend police officer who fatally shot black man resigns
A white Indiana police officer who fatally shot a black man, sparking protests and roiling the presidential campaign of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, has resigned, the local police union announced Monday.
Divided COA upholds drug, firearm convictions, can’t solve gun ‘conundrum’
Though the warrantless search that led to a man’s drug- and firearm-related convictions was lawful, a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals was stumped on how to resolve the “conundrum” of when or if the man’s gun can be returned to him.