Appeals Court: Indiana Police Department Can Be Held Liable

A federal appeals court has ruled the Evansville Police Department in Indiana committed too many mistakes” to be shielded from liability in a lawsuit filed over a SWAT raid on her home in 2012.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago compared the Evansville police to the Keystone Kops and said the broadcast video of the failed SWAT raid “cannot have helped race relations in Evansville.”

The three judge panel upheld a ruling that said Louise Milan can proceed with her lawsuit accusing police of using excessive force. Milan was 68 years old at the time of the raid.

Milan’s lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages. Police conducted the raid because they believed someone in the house was behind violent online threats against police.