The Winfield Police Department has opened an internal investigation following a lawsuit filed by a Chesterton man against the town of Winfield and four Winfield police officers.
Adam Curry, 47, of Chesterton, in his lawsuit, alleges he was handcuffed and beaten so brutally he lost consciousness following a routine traffic stop for speeding at East 106th Avenue and Randolph Street on June 9, 2024.
The lawsuit was filed on March 23 in U.S. District Court in Hammond by Curry’s attorney, Jeffrey D. Naffziger.
Curry could not be reached for comment. Naffziger declined comment before reaching out to his client.
Winfield Town Marshal Robert Byrd, in a news release issued earlier this week, said the police department “has opened up an internal investigation into the actions of both the plaintiff and police officers, is fully cooperating with the civil lawsuit process and is in communications with the Lake County Prosecutor’s office.”
Curry, following his June 9, 2024, arrest, pleaded guilty through the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office to operating while intoxicated after facing the possibility of nine other charges, including resisting arrest and battery to law enforcement, Byrd said.
Named in the lawsuit are the town of Winfield, Officer Paul Shane, Officer George Dickerson, Officer Christopher Wilson and Detective Cpl. Jordan Billups-Taylor.
The narratives of the police officers provided by Byrd offer a different perspective of the incident on June 9, 2024, when Dickerson said he was radioed by Shane for an additional officer at 106th and Randolph.
Shane, in his narrative, said he could smell the odor of alcohol and observed Curry was “unsteady on his feet, talking in a loud voice and slurring his speech.”
Shane and the other three officers, in their reports, described Curry as being uncooperative and declining to submit to a standard field sobriety test, but instead telling them to put him in handcuffs.
Curry continued to resist arrest when police tried to handcuff him and at one point, he swung a closed fist at Wilson and Dickerson, police narratives state.
“At this time I struck Curry several times with a closed fist in his side which was ineffective. I then turned on my Taser T7 and deployed the taser,” Dickerson said.
Billups-Taylor, in his narrative, said he was the last to arrive at the scene and said Curry began yelling at him, turned his body toward him and attempted to put him in a leg lock.
At that point, Curry kicked Billups-Taylor in the right knee, causing him pain, discomfort and swelling.
Billups-Taylor said while waiting for medics to arrive, to treat a cut on Curry’s chin, that Curry attempted to sit up, continued to resist and then “began convulsing and shaking imitating a seizure.”
Curry was observed, by Billups-Taylor, to be breathing normally the entire time this episode, according to the officers’ narrative of what happened.
When medics arrived, they administered a sternum rub after which Curry threatened to cut him and go after him in a threatening manner, Billups-Taylor said.
Shane said when the EMS arrived, Curry began using abusive, threatening language and officers had to take him to the ground to gain control of his hands and properly secure and lock both handcuffs.
Curry was then transported to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart for treatment and then taken to the Lake County Jail.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
