State Probes Excise Agent Complaint

Source from:  courierpress.com By Kate Braser (Contact) 18, 2007  11/19/2007

An arrest by Indiana State Excise Police that is currently at the center of an ongoing lawsuit is also being investigated by the state Indiana Attorney General's office. Cale Schnaus spent last Christmas in the Vanderburgh County Jail for charges that were later dismissed. Now, the Evansville man is suing the state, Indiana State Excise Police, Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and excise officers Ron McDonald and Charles Butler, alleging they violated his civil rights during the arrest. In the complaint filed in Vanderburgh Circuit Court, Schnaus claims that on Dec. 22, 2006, McDonald gathered officers to investigate unfounded claims Schnaus was holding an underage drinking party at his home at 4109 Gayne Ave. According to the complaint, those officers entered a fenced area outside the Schnaus home at 11:30 p.m. After entering the fenced area without permission, McDonald reportedly looked into a window. Schnaus said all of the friends and relatives at his party were of legal drinking age, and that McDonald "knew or should have known" that Schnaus was 26 at the time. The complaint states the officers walked into the home and that "the plaintiff was knocked to the ground and was beaten by the said defendants, causing him to suffer pain and injuries to his person." Schnaus reportedly "was caused to incur medical expenses, suffer the loss of employment and to suffer and endure great and severe physical and mental pain and suffering." On Dec. 27, 2006, Schnaus was charged with battery resulting in bodily injury and resisting law enforcement. Those charges were dismissed on June 25. Court records show that in addition to the charges being dismissed, the court determined McDonald illegally entered Schnaus' garage, and that the officer violated Schnaus' rights when he looked through the window. The details surrounding the illegal entry were suppressed by the court. Officials with the Indiana State Excise Police confirmed the incident is under investigation by the Indiana Attorney General's office. Jenny Fults, Indiana State Excise Police information officer, declined to comment on the arrest or the pending civil suit. She confirmed McDonald is employed as an excise officer. "It's been turned over to the attorney general's office for investigation, so I can't comment on an ongoing investigation," she said. Staci Schneider, chief communications officer for the attorney general's office, said when a lawsuit or complaint is filed against a state agency, it is standard procedure for her office to investigate that claim. Reached at his home Friday, McDonald declined to comment, referring calls to the Indiana State Excise Police and attorney general's office. "I'm just doing my job still, out here working," he said. Moments later, McDonald called the newspaper and stated he believes the attorney general's office is in the process of transferring the Schnaus case from local to federal court. Enditem