Black residents in lawsuit against Winfield, Lake County speak out
Airius Reed, Jasmine Hobbs and Larry Hobbs spoke with their attorney, Hakeem Muhammad, who recently sent video of the news conference to the Post-Tribune. The three filed their lawsuit against the departments in Hammond's U.S. District Court on Dec. 26, alleging that officers violated multiple state and federal laws because of their race.
'I was fearful, not only for myself but for my family as well,' Reed said about the incident. 'Never in a million years did I think that something like this would happen.'
The incident happened at about 10:30 p.m. July 14, 2024, according to lawsuit documents.
The lawsuit accuses officers of unlawful search and seizure, excessive force, false arrest, false imprisonment, failure to intervene, violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and state laws against assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Reed, Jasmine Hobbs and Larry Hobbs request a trial by jury, according to lawsuit documents.
The three are asking for compensatory damages against the defendants for physical injuries and bodily harm, pain and suffering, emotional distress and psychological trauma, past and future medical expenses, loss of liberty, loss of dignity, interference with familial relationships, and other economic losses and out-of-pocket expenses.
They are also asking for punitive damages against the defendants and awards for attorneys' fees, cost of suit and litigation expenses.
None of the three was charged with crimes.
The Lake County Sheriff's and Winfield Police departments did not comment on the lawsuit Wednesday.
According to court documents, Winfield police officers Chad Stroup, Paul Shane and Skyler Hofer on July 21 submitted affirmative defenses in response to the plaintiffs' amended complaints.
The officers claimed their actions were reasonable and not on notice of constitutional deprivations, plaintiffs failed to mitigate injuries and damages, plaintiffs failed to state a claim that would grant relief, Fourth Amendment claims are barred by the existence of probable cause, raised the defense of consent, any allegations of First Amended complaints not specifically admitted are denied, and they reserve the right to plead additional defenses.
The defendants also deny that the plaintiffs are entitled to relief and demand a trial by jury.
The Winfield Police Department received reports of shots fired in Jasmine Hobbs' neighborhood at about 9:45 p.m. on July 14, 2024, and approached Reed while he was outside the home, shining a flashlight at him. The officers never said they were with the departments, according to lawsuit documents, and later acknowledged that Reed was too tall to be the suspect.
Reed believed he was about to be robbed, ran into the home and told Jasmine Hobbs of the incident, and she called 911 to report an attempted robbery. Jasmine Hobbs told dispatchers that children and his disabled father, Larry Hobbs, were in the home.
Winfield police requested assistance from the Lake County Sheriff's Department, according to the lawsuit, reporting they had made contact with the shooter before he fled into the home. Sheriff's department officers took positions around the perimeter of the residence, and Jasmine Hobbs was demanded to leave the home with officers pointing guns at her.
Jasmine Hobbs was later handcuffed and moved into a patrol car while children remained in the home and hid while police allegedly searched without consent.
During the news conference, Jasmine Hobbs said the incident has tarnished the home for her family, who had not yet lived there for one year.
'My children don't feel safe,' Jasmine Hobbs said. 'They feel as though this is a place where we reside, but they don't feel at home anymore because of this event and what the officers did to us that night. Overall, this has left the three of us traumatized, but more importantly, it has left my children traumatized.'
Jasmine Hobbs said her daughters don't understand what happened, and she doesn't know what to tell them because the incident still doesn't make sense to her.
'We looked to the police to protect and serve,' she said. 'That night, we felt as though we were the victims of these events. So, we're looking for justice, and we're looking for these officers to know the pain they caused that day for everyone involved.'
An officer allegedly grabbed Larry Hobbs by the arm, pulled him from the doorway, threw him face-down on the ground and handcuffed him. Larry Hobbs informed police that he couldn't stand without assistance because he has a disability.
No officer reports documented Larry Hobbs' disability, according to the lawsuit.
In the news conference, Larry Hobbs said he and his daughter have both never been in handcuffs before, and he's disappointed by how his family was treated.
'This one incident was not supposed to happen,' Larry Hobbs said. 'To have an incident like this happen is totally unexpected, and we didn't deserve to go through this. My daughter moved into this neighborhood because she thought she was going to have some peace and quiet.'
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Just because something isn't named a detention facility doesn't mean this administration isn't going to use it as one,' she said at the time. 'If people are detained there, it is a detention facility, period.' For now, the families of detained loved ones endure — whether it is Chavez back in Honduras, thousands of miles away from her three children, or Lopez, who is only a couple of hundred of miles away from her three children, but still unable to see them. Even if Lopez's husband wanted to take the children to see their mother in detention, the trip would be too difficult, he said. The family lives in north suburban Lake County and Lopez is in Kentucky. Chavez said she is still trying to comprehend how she ended up detained, sleeping on the cold floor in Broadview, shackled and deprived of basic necessities. 'We prayed. Sometimes we braided each other's hair. We cried,' recalling her detention in Broadview and Kentucky, Chavez said. Her lawyer said they will continue to appeal her asylum case from Honduras.
