GREENWOOD, Ind. — The estate of a woman shot and killed by Greenwood Police officers filed a tort claim alleging officers used excessive force, failed to follow department policy and ignored widely accepted law enforcement standards.
The tort claim states that the officers shot 49-year-old Monica Vaught 12 times on March 29, with seven of those shots hitting her in the back. It suggests the officers violated Vaught's constitutional rights.
In a statement to 13News, the attorney for Vaught's family said, "Monica's friends and family describe her as a beautiful soul and loving mother of three in addition to being a former Greenwood High School valedictorian and Indiana University salutatorian. The estate will continue to seek justice for Monica Vaught."
The police department's critical incident video included surveillance, dashcam and body camera videos of the incident. It was released on May 13.
It shows moments from the fatal shooting shortly after 11 p.m. March 29. That's when Greenwood officers responded to a report of a possibly intoxicated driver near the intersection of Madison Avenue and County Line Road.
Officers located the car on Madison Avenue about a mile south of that intersection and a high-speed pursuit ensued through downtown Greenwood, police said.
Vaught struck a guard wire on a telephone post during the pursuit but was not injured at that time.
The chase continued to the back parking lot of the Greenwood Police Department, near the intersection of South Washington Street and Surina Way, where a police spokesman said officers blocked the entrances in an attempt to stop Vaught's erratic driving.
WARNING: The critical incident video, linked here, contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.
According to police, Vaught continued crashing forward and backward into the police cars that were blocking her as she tried to get out. Then, police said Vaught drove her car toward police officers, which is when they fired shots.
Police don't know if Vaught was struck by the initial gunshots as she continued driving in the parking lot for a few minutes.
According to police, Vaught stopped her car on the north end of the parking lot before revving her engine and driving toward the officers, who fired shots again, which ended the incident.
Police gave aid to Vaught until medics arrived, who pronounced her dead at the scene.
In total, four officers shot at Vaught. The department released the officers' names and service time on April 5:
- Sgt. Brandon Cox (6 1/2 years)
- Officer Elijah Allen (3 years)
- Officer Ben Louzon (1 1/2 years)
- Officer Zane Hennig (8 months)
The officers were placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, due to the department's policy on officer-involved shootings.
The investigations by the police department and Johnson County Prosecutor's Office both found the officers' actions were lawful.
One officer, who was not involved in the shooting, failed to turn his body camera on until several minutes after arriving. He was issued a counseling form as it was his first violation. Another officer was found to have risked his personal safety by standing in the potential path of a moving car. He was counseled and has to attend some re-training courses. All of the officers involved have returned to work.
Police confirmed they had several encounters with Vaught over the past couple of years. Toxicology tests found she had methamphetamine, amphetamine and cannabinoids in her system.