A Black couple is suing two law enforcement agencies and several cops in an Indiana town for racially profiling a man they thought was a shooting suspect, then holding him, his girlfriend, and her father at gunpoint during an aggressive detainment.
Airius Reed, as well as Jasmine Hobbs and her family, filed a federal lawsuit on Dec. 26 against four Lake County police officers, four Winfield police officers, their respective departments, Lake County and the Town of Winfield. The lawsuit alleges multiple violations, including unlawful search and seizure, excessive force, false imprisonment, breaches of state laws related to assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit was filed five months after an intense encounter between multiple cops and 31-year-old Reed, 33-year-old Hobbs, and Hobbs’ 65-year-old father on July 14, 2024.
Reed was visiting Hobbs’ home in Crown Point, Indiana that evening.
While he was there, the Winfield Police Department got a 911 call about shots fired in Hobbs’ neighborhood. The department dispatched several officers to investigate the report.
At 10:30 p.m., Reed left the home to retrieve his iPad and phone charger from his car. When he got to his vehicle, he realized he didn’t have his car keys.
Unaware that a police search was happening, Reed turned to head back to the house when a cop flickered a flashlight in his direction and yelled at Reed, “Come here!” without identifying himself as a police officer.
Reed thought he was about to be robbed, according to the complaint, and ran back into the house to tell Hobbs. Hobbs called 911 at once to report a robbery and dispatchers informed her about the “shots fired” call.
Winfield officers immediately reached out to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department for backup, stating they made contact with a “male shooter” who fled into a home.
While the 911 caller who reported the gunfire described the suspect as a Black male with a stocky build who was 5 feet 7 and wearing a gray hoodie and white socks, Reed is 6 feet 2 and has a slender build. The only trait he shared with the described suspect was race.
In the belief they had caught the suspect, officers surrounded Hobbs’ home and used a PA system to order Reed, Hobbs, and Hobbs’ father to come outside.
“I’m like wait, we’re the victims here,” Jasmine Hobbs told The Times of Northwest Indiana. “And in the meantime, there are lasers going through the windows, pointed at my kids’ heads.”
Once they came outside with their hands up, officers commanded Reed to get on the ground and threatened to use tear gas and deploy K-9 units if Reed or the Hobbs didn’t comply with their orders.
After Reed laid on the ground and was cuffed, an officer questioned his presence in the area while referring to him as “homie.”
Officers also grabbed Jasmine Hobbs’ father, Larry Hobbs, by the arm, pulled him from the doorway, threw him face-down on the ground, and handcuffed him as well, despite informing the cops of his disability. Another officer later ordered Hobbs to stand and he reiterated he was unable to do so without assistance.
Jasmine Hobbs was also forcefully cuffed and moved to a patrol vehicle, the suit states.
During their detainment, the officers acknowledged Reed was “too tall” to be the suspect, yet searched Hobbs’ home with firearms and flashlights without a warrant or consent.
This all took place in front of Hobbs’ 3-year-old and 11-year-old daughters. The 11-year-old reported that she saw the officers point guns at Reed, her mother, and her grandfather and tried to hide her younger sister beside their bed to avoid detection.
Shortly after their search, officers released Jasmine Hobbs, who showed them video footage proving that Reed was inside her residence during the time the reported shooting took place. Officers detained Reed for another 20 minutes before releasing him. No one was charged.
Hobbs said only one officer apologized for the incident that night and that she received a call from a sergeant the day after the detainment who also offered an apology.
“They just don’t care,” Jasmine Hobbs said. “They have no respect for the trauma they caused our family that day. All these individuals were sworn to protect. Not one person stepped in to protect.”
The complaint states that the incident has triggered anxiety attacks and sleep disturbances for Hobbs’ 11-year-old daughter who also found it difficult to be around law enforcement at school. Her three-year-old child experienced separation anxiety, cannot sleep alone, and shows visible distress at the sight of police officers.
“I’m their mother, their protector and I couldn’t protect them in that moment,” Hobbs said. “They were so close, but so out of reach. And I don’t ever want to feel that again. I don’t ever want to feel that helpless.”
The adults suffered bodily injury, emotional distress, and trauma from their unlawful arrest and imprisonment, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs seek punitive and compensatory damages for the harm and distress outlined in the lawsuit.
“We believe this was racially motivated,” attorney Hakeem Muhammad told The Times. “We do not believe Jasmine and her family would have been treated this way had they been a white family.”
