Alicea v. Thomas, et al., U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana

Claim:

Partners David Beach and John McCrum successfully defended two Hammond Police officers involved in the apprehension and arrest of a burglar in a four-day jury trial which resulted in a verdict for the defendants. The two officers arrested Mitchell Alicea after he burglarized a family’s home in north Hammond. One of the officers used a K-9, Leo, to track Alicea to an empty, above-ground swimming pool, where Alicea was found hiding with his hands in his jacket pockets. Despite multiple orders to show his hands, Alicea refused, at which point Leo was ordered to apprehend him. After the arrest, Alicea was convicted of burglary and sentenced to a term of years at Westville Correctional Center. While in prison, Alicea sued the officers for excessive force related to the dog bite he sustained to his forearm, which caused permanent nerve damage. At trial, he asserted that when confronted in the pool he voluntarily surrendered, but that the officer nonetheless sent the dog after him. After retiring to deliberate, the jury reached its verdict for the defendant officers within a matter of minutes.

Outcome:

Defense verdict.