Lawsuit says authorities watched suspect drown
Man claims officers refused to help his son, who jumped into a lake to escape an arrest.


By Vic Ryckaert
vic.ryckaert@indystar.com
August 19, 2003


The father of a 17-year-old who fled from police and drowned in a Far-Eastside lake claims the officers stood by, watched and allowed his son to die.

Johnny Curry filed a lawsuit Monday in Marion Superior Court, blaming his son's death on police negligence.

"Joseph McHugh struggled and requested help for approximately 10 to 15 minutes and told officers he would drown," Curry's attorney, Mark Alderfer, wrote in the five-page complaint. "Officers and deputies from various agencies stood by and watched Joseph McHugh struggle for his life and negligently, willfully and maliciously refused to render aid."

McHugh was a passenger in a car stopped about 4 a.m. on Aug. 19, 2001, near the Marina Apartments, in the 9500 block of Shoreland Drive. After a preliminary blood-alcohol test placed him at 0.08, McHugh bolted from police, ran past a sign warning "no swimming in the lake," and jumped in. Officers lost sight of him. His body was discovered two days later.

Curry claims the officers could have used a small boat already in the lake to rescue his son. He said the officers were poorly trained and supervised and violated McHugh's civil rights by failing to assist him after he was in their custody. Curry claims that by allowing his son to die, the officers used excessive force. In Indiana, the maximum a jury may award for a wrongful death case is $300,000.

The lawsuit names as defendants the Marion County Sheriff's Department, former Sheriff Jack Cottey, the Indianapolis and Cumberland police departments, the town of Cumberland and every officer who responded to the scene.

Shortly after McHugh's death, his family said he ran because he faced arrest on warrants -- one was for a probation violation, the other was for theft.

Police said divers arrived within minutes but were hampered by murky waters that limited visibility.

Lt. Phil Burton, a spokesman for the Marion County Sheriff's Department, declined comment. Others named in the suit could not be reached for comment.

This is the kind of thing that pisses me off!

People should be held accountable for their actions. This man is suing because his son was drinking at 17, driving drunk, and ran from the police, and now the police are responsible because his dumbass son jumped in a lake and drowned! WTF!!

Stand up and take responsibility and quit blaming everyone else for poor parenting!

For the most part, I agree with you. However, the police should not stand by and watch the guy drown without trying to save his life in spite of his predicament being his own fault. Tough call unless you were there and witnessed exactly what happened.

Did they really just stand and watch? We don't know. I really doubt it.

I also agree with ''Stand up and take responsibility and quit blaming everyone else for poor parenting!''

'' his family said he ran because he faced arrest on warrants -- one was for a probation violation, the other was for theft.''

good start for a 17year old... What's next...

Probably a good thing for the society that he's sleeping with the fish now...

I'm guessing that some lawyer came running to the family with the '' you know, we might get money out of this''

nuff said!

back to my boring work.

Marc-André

I agree that you had to be there on this one. It saws that they lost sight of him, If I was the police officer, I would have a hard time rowing out into the dark lake not knowing at the time if the suspect was armed and why he fled...
Sad story on both sides, I'm sure the officers feel bad a life was lost as well, but I don't see them as contributers to that life being lost.
Ferg.

There should be a law: "Run from police and they are allowed to beat the living s__t out of you." I am so tired of seeing people running from the police and putting innocent peoples lives at risk. To get past the "Ethnic issue" They should have a specially formed taskforce to actually do the beating. Sorry to offend here! But man..... Or maybe the holding cell for these offenders should be with a horney psycho killer on dope.

Flame away, but I feel the laws are too lienient and people get away with too much. "Drink&Drive should = Life sentence with no parole." That could have been my little girl the Drunk driver killed/almost killed. They choose to drink and drive. The little girl has no choices.

Okay, Rant Over!

This is going to sound crazy coming from me.. but here goes...

I absolutely do not trust the government in general, or the police in particular. Way too much power, unaccounted for, in unknown hands. But I also believe there are real conspiracies out there - so maybe I'm just nuts.

So, I have to disagree with "run from the police, and they can beat the living **** out of you".

just MHO,
Rusty

P.S. The only people that really know what happened that night, are the ones who were there. One of them isn't talking anymore.

rockaria sounds like our smartest forum member.

police should have the license to kill ANYONE who runs from them, armed or not.

I really like the story in the LA area about the cop who is going to court because of abusing the teen at the gas station. of course they make it sound like the cop just picked a random good kid and starting beating him. if has NOTHING to do with the fact that the kid hit the cop in the face and bloodied him. the cop should have put a round in the kids worthless head right then and there.

Hit a police officer? Totally different thing. They should be able to use what force is required to put you into submission - but no more. And certainly not the use of deadly force, unless they are protecting their own (or someone else's life).

Run? And get shot in the back for that? That's insane.

-Rusty

why is that insane? why are people running from the cops in the first place? why can't people just behave in this country and abide by the laws? there is so much crime here because people know they can get away with anything.

This is an area in which I actually have some experience. Two years ago, I was on a jury for three weeks on a similar case. The police were charged in the wrongful death of a man that they had taken into custody.

I think that you have to consider that police officers are responsible for the safety of an individual once they are in custody. This guy may have not had cuffs on or had been arrested. But, he had been given a blood alcohol test so he was clearly in police custody.

The guy bolted and dove in a lake. Was he a danger to the public or the police officers? Probably not. I would almost guarantee that the officers made sure that he wasn’t carrying any weapons prior to giving him the blood alcohol test.

It may not be popular and is contrary to my personal beliefs, but the officers involved were negligent in their duties. They were responsible for the safety of the individual and they were responsible for controlling the suspect.

Now, the maximum a award for a wrongful death case in Indiana may be $300,000. However, the claim that “the officers were poorly trained and supervised” opens up a completely different can of worms. This happened in the case that I was on as well. This opens the case up for negligence charges as well as the wrongful death charge. By naming the Marion County Sheriff's Department, former Sheriff Jack Cottey, the Indianapolis and Cumberland police departments, and the town of Cumberland as well as the officers involved, the plaintiff has expanded the scope of potential damages. I think the reporter missed a big one there.

Why is it insane?

Because the police aren't always right, and the system isn't always fair. Someone dying because they run from the police is EXCESSIVE, to say the very least. Welcome to Nazi Germany.

I agree that crime is out of control, but what we need is more effective enforcement of laws that already exist - not new or expanded powers given to the Executive Branch, regardless of what level they're on.

v/r
lkb

vote in the damn poll!

Okay, okay.. jeez!

I suggest that we allow Admins to kill people who refuse to vote in polls.

I'm sure there is shared responsibility here inthis young mans' death, the police and his own. Only those there know the truth. Running from the police, IMHO is very likely to get you roughed up and probably deservedly so. But not killed! And I'm talking about physically running, as in- on your feet. Running in a car puts innocent lives at risk. That's a whole different thing.

I wish I could vote in the damn poll. But, I pushed the wrong effin' button. It won't let me vote now.

Maybe Rusty can fix that for me.

You pushed the wrong button?

Lemme look and see what I can find... I don't want to reset the whole poll.

What vote did you cast, and what did you mean to cast?

I guess I'm a little less paranoid because I don't plan on running from the police or breaking any laws. there wouldn't be the need for such executive power if people would just behave. but, seeing as people will never behave without severe consequences, so be it.

fact of life...people who run from police have either had a criminal history or have just commited a crime, and will commit future crimes. it's an endless spiral.

kill 'em all.

running from the cops or not, it's not like they threw him into the water. the results here are totally the result of the kids actions.

0. criminal history

1. breaking the law

2. running from the law

3. jumping into a lake

I hit the null vote button instead of the vote button.

I wanted to vote that the cops were culpable.

Hey Paul,

I don't see a simple answer to do that... and rather than screw up the databases and crash the BBS, I'm going to err on the side of caution and not touch it.

Sorry,
Rusty

So, for that, a 17 year old boy deserves to die??

If they could have prevented his death, but stood by instead because they felt he was getting what he deserved, then they are responsible for his death.

I think Paul is right on in this one IF once they give you the breathalizer, you are technically in police custody. I don't know on that. But if the kid was in custody, they are responsible for keeping him from harming others as well as himself. That means that if he is in the back of the squad car and he starts banging his head on the window, the cops are required to get him to stop (tie him down, drug him, whatever (not shoot him)).

The real question here is whether or not the cops knew he was in the water and if so, could they see him and if so, could they get to him in time to save him. If so, they were obligated to at least try. It may suck, but its a dirty job and somebody has to do it.

I don't know if anyone here has jumped into a lake or other body of water to save someone that was drowning, but even someone who isn't running from the law, when drowning, is extremely dangerous....thrashing around....they could easily injure or even drown a person that was trying to save them.

Add to that the murky water and it was 4 a.m. and the chances that the police were able to see where he was or notice a small boat that was reportedly nearby become pretty remote.

I am an OKlahoma Self Defense Act Instructor. I teach a class that is required to apply for your concealed carry permit. One of the main things we stress is "reasonable use of of deadly force" We have the right to defend ourselves from threat of bodily harm, by any means necessary, including the use of deadly force. The right to defend ourselves ceases once the threat has been negated. The police have the same rights and responsibilities. Simply running away, for whatever reason, does not pose a threat and is not justification for use of deadly force. Giving the police that power would be Gestapo tactics!

Looking at the results of the poll just affirms my thoughts that 914 people are pretty smart people. Shoulda, coulda, woulda........My question is who said that the Police just stood around and watched while the suspect repeatedly cried for help? I doubt the Police said that. Its the scum-sucking, trying to get a check lawyer. The sign said "no swimming". My guess is it was there for a reason. It would have been nice if the suspect would have done what the Police asked him to. He'd still be alive. He gambled and lost.They should have used a boat? Give me a break.

As a police officer for 22 years I can tell you that sh*t does happen. One time on midnight watch we had suspect take off running at the sight of a Police car who was checking businesses late one night. The stupid fool took off running across a bridge over the Chattahoochee River which seperates Georgia from Alabama. The bridge is about 80 feet above the water. Well this fool makes it about 3/4ths of the way across with the police officer giving chase behind him. All of the sudden he decides to take a nose dive over the side of the bridge into the river. They found his body about 3 hours later, his head stuck in the muddy river bottom up to his shoulders. We never knew why he ran or jumped. Anyway about his jumping from the bridge.....I'd have to give him a 9.5 on style and a 9.0 on difficulty factor.

Once you are in custody the Police are supposed to protect you. This is true. But at the point in time he ESCAPED POLICE CUSTODY. its all on him.

Well said.

running away very often poses a threat. how many times have you seen or heard of criminals fleeing the seen on foot and hijacking a motorist? how about when they then mow over someone or hit another car while trying to escape?

And once a fleeing poses a clear and immediate threat to the life of another - then deadly force should be used. But NOT before.

what deadly force was used by these cops? I see no evidence of force.

strike 1) he shouldn't have ran...

strike 2) under-age+drunk+driving

strike 3) don't be dumb enough to jump in the water if you can't swim

I HIGHLY doubt the police stood idley by and watched him drown. more likely that they didn't see him until it was too late, if at all...

I feel bad for the guy, but I think our little swimmer here is in the wrong.

From the story I read, there was no deadly force used. Running away and jumping into a lake isn't threatening someone else's life. Hence, no deadly force.

However, according to your proposal, the cops should have shot him in the water, for running away.

I think alphacrimedog nailed it.

"He escaped Police custody."

If a guy breaks out of jail and is hit by a car, who's to blame?
Same situation (basically) to me.

personally, I see nothing wrong with shooting him. again, I don't have to fear being shot because I'm surely smart enough to not run from a bunch of cops with handcuffs, clubs, guns, and dogs.

Vortex am I reading you right or are you on crack? Lets just have Nazi Germany all over again huh?! Lets just give the cops the ability to shoot a unarmed person....Geez

I'm with Lawrence. The authorities in this country are way off the chart as far as unchecked powers. Our liberties are few and dwindling down everyday, because people are just handing them to the govt because they are weak and don't want to deal with things.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"---Ben Franklin

The police have a job and I'm sure they did theirs that night. The idiot drowned due to his own bad choice. Life is about choices, good and bad.

Are you in the funeral business?

I believe that giving the police, or any level of law enforcement, that much life-or-death power is just asking to move towards a police state and destroy the freedoms that our country is based on.

So, I think we should agree to disagree.

honestly I would rather have a police state and less crime, but that's just me. to me, there is no freedom to commit crimes.

hey send the paypal for those seals! I am going to ship stuff tomorrow, ONCE.

My main point is simple. You can do anything in the world, Anything you want, but each action has a cost to you. We have to accept those costs. We choose to accept them and do what we do. Moral society is degrading at a rate faster than the costs are rising.

Simple: Would you speed if the ticket was $5,000?

Nope!

Would you Drive drunk if the sentance was 10 years in Jail?

Nope!

Would you run from a cop if you knew they could...

Nope!


Simple, The costs just aren't enough. Now I can run from a cop, No matter the situation and sue for any reason. Cool!

We all know that the guy in this story was casuing no harm to anyone but themselves. My points are aimed at all those A__ Wipes we see on that police chase show.

"I ran from the cops and killed a fimily of 5 because I did not want to get caught because I was smoking Dope!" "But now I am suing becasue the cops hurt me!"

WHAT ABOUT THE INNOCENT PEOPLES RIGHTS?

This is a very touchy subject to me...

I know the government can have too much power and we all feel like its a police state, but man, some days I fear for my life. Not from the govermnet or cops, But from people who choose to do what they do and harm innocent lives.

Rant #2 over...

I thought it said "No swimming in the Lake"... ???

Of course, no one was there, who knows what really went on.

We had the same problem in Benton Harbor here - cops were chasing a dude running on a cycle and he crashed into a house and died.

Everyone blamed it on the police for the dude running and killing himself - then they burned the city down.

Yeah, well - whatever. I figure people are big enough to make their own decisions - if that motorcyclist decided to run from the police and drive 70mph+ thru a downtown city - that's his own deal.

If this dude decided to run from the police and jump in the lake ON PURPOSE then, well - it's nature taking it's course. That's that.

Later,
Tom

just because a person is wrong doesn't give "joe law" the right to pass a death sentance at the scene.... had he pulled a gun and shot at them or endangered someone elses life... the yes the police should have and would have acted with force... but shooting someone for running is way over-reacting... only a jury can decide death sentances like that.

my family had a deli durring the 80's. one saturday night this ex-marine on acid walks behind the counter and asks me if i speak italian. i said no and he asks again do you speak italian.

when i said no the second time he freaks out and grabs a big ( 12") knife out of the rack and comes after my ass. i threw a gallon of hot chili in his face and he freaks out. the maintenance man grabed him by the shirt which he got out of and headed to the back door.

i called the law and they where on him like flies on shit, but he got away from them and jumped into the river. the river was way up, but a couple cops jumped in and caught him. it was flood stage, so the officers recieved commendation. the perp got two years for assulting the officers, flight ect. bad trip for him.


i never left the butcher knifes out in the open, but i never did learn how to speak italian. i think it was from the godfather.


yes, the 17 year old was an idiot, and if i where one of the cops, i would have left his ass in the water. maybe throw a rope or floatation, but i would not jump in with 30 pounds of gear on. thats cold, but sink or swim.

NHI....No Human Involved.....First Prize in the Darwin Awards....

Well Vortex I hate to keep tagging you again, but I think China or North Korea is a better country for you. They can give you all the security you want, less the liberties.

I'm not ashamed to admit it, but I'm a staunch right winger.
Although I don't believe all that the right stand for. I truly believe that we need to start standing up and taking our liberties at heart. We will always hear about crime and some stupid politician wanting to make "Yet Another Law" to vacuum away our rights. The laws that are in effect are just that, they may not all be right "some downright stupid" and we might not completely agree with them. However we need to be responsible citizens and follow them as best as possible. If we don't like the law then we need to do something to "legally" change it.

The idiot ran and placed himself out of the safety of the officers. They would have taken him to jail "alive" most certainly, but that is far better than the dirt bed he eventually gave himself.

at least he obeyed the sign!

he didn't "swimm" in the lake, did he?

Ok, I'm going to try to make my rant as short as possible. Here goes...

1) This is why I don't drink. Get drunk = make STUPID decissions. Who got drunk and made the stupid mistakes? The kid. Nobody forced him to drink. Nobody forced him to drive. Nobody forced him to run from the police. Nobody threw him in the lake. Nobody forced his criminal history upon him. Do you see a pattern? His fault. His fault. His fault.
2) IT WAS 4:00AM!!!!!! Would you jump into a cold lake fully dressed in the pitch black of night? I doubt the officers could see ANYTHING. If the officers could have saved him without risking their own lives they should have, but that doesn't sound like it was the case.
4) If you hate the police, bla bla bla, you need to ride shotgun on the graveyard shift in the city with one for a few weeks. You will change your tune. BTDT. Police are people. Treat them with respect and it will generally be reciprocated. There are exceptions, and they are rare. Especially if you obey the law.
5) As has been said already: We don't need more laws, more police, more programs, bla bla bla. WE NEED ACCOUNTABILITY.

Personal story: My sister is a retired police officer. While chasing a robbery suspect she rounded on him in an alley/backyard. He attempted to shoot her with a 12ga. shotgun which jammed. While attempting to clear the jam she subdued him with pepper spray and apprehended him. His parents sued her. He was trying to kill my sister with a shotgun and they sued her for using pepper spray. They should have been praising her for putting his life before hers because anybody else would have filled the air with spent cases, including myself. This whiney liberal "not my fault", "I deserve more", "take care of me", Robbinhood cultural shift makes me sick. Ask yourselves this: If our founding fathers had thought/acted as we do would we have ever made it as a nation? I am sad to say that I doubt it.
-Ben M.

Amen and pass the collection plate !!!!
BRAVO!

i don't see why liberal has to equal whiney. well, in this country it might.
but then, you lack political diversity anyways.
germany currently has the most "liberal" government since WWII and i have never ever heard of someone suing a police officer for pepper-spraying him while he was trying to kill the officer. never.
nor have i ever heard of someone in germany suing a microwave manufacturer because their cat died when they were trying to dry her in the microwave. is it just me, or is there something fundamentally wrong here?

i very much agree with that people have to be held responsible for their own actions and i very much agree with that giving the right to shoot people at will to the police would be the beginning of the end of what's left of your "American Freedom" you're all so proud of.

flames on,
Andy

So if Brad gives me advice to put a 3.2 in my teener, and I drive it into a river at 4 am, I think Brad should be responsible to come pull it out to save the teener from certain death. What do yo think?