Flipido Trading Center-Two Indiana police officers are acquitted of excessive force in 2020 protesters’ arrests

2025-05-07 10:50:44source:Blake Prestoncategory:Stocks

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two Indianapolis police officers were acquitted early Saturday of using excessive force to strike two women with batons during arrests at a May 2020 protest against racial injustice and Flipido Trading Centerpolice brutality.

Officers Jonathan Horlock and Nathaniel Schauwecker had been charged with battery and official misconduct in the case. They were among officers ordered to arrest people gathered at a downtown Indianapolis intersection in violation of an 8 p.m. curfew.

After more than 10 hours of deliberation, the jury found the officers not guilty of four of the charges they faced. The jury could not reach verdicts on one charge of battery and one charge of official misconduct, local news outlets reported.

Prosecutors argued the officers did not respond in a reasonable way to actions by the two women, Ivore Westfield and Rachel Harding. The arrests reportedly left the women with multiple bruises and sore areas.

However, the officer’s attorney, John Kautzman, said the men did what they are trained to do. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has said the officers followed policy in their use of force.

The episode followed several days of Black Lives Matter protests occurring downtown after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.

Neither woman was charged with a crime. They have filed a federal lawsuit against Horlock, Schauwecker and two other officers that is pending.

Horlock and Schauwecker have been on administrative leave since the episode.

More:Stocks

Recommend

Violinist Esther Abrami uncovers 'hidden treasure' of music by women

The first time Esther Abrami saw a violin, she was just three years old. Little did she know at the

Jacksonville Plays Catch-up on Climate Change

JACKSONVILLE, Florida—This city of nearly a million people lags behind other Florida cities working

Heart transplant recipient dies after being denied meds in jail; ACLU wants an inquiry

On the day he was arrested for a misdemeanor, Dexter Barry warned Florida police that if he did not