Ex-Eaton woman's federal lawsuit against police dismissed
MUNCIE, Ind. — A former Eaton woman's federal lawsuit — against officers from that Delaware County town's police department who arrested her in 2020 — has been dismissed.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Miller Jr., in a Thursday ruling, said Tiffanie Williams "by all accounts... has abandoned this case."
When she filed the suit last July, Williams listed an address in Apple Valley, California, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
More recent efforts to contact her have been unsuccessful, and mail sent to the Apple Valley address has been returned as undeliverable. In issuing an earlier order giving her until May 29 to "show cause why the case should not be dismissed," the judge expressed hope Williams might contact the U.S. District Court's clerk or check "the online docket."
In dismissing the lawsuit — which also named Delaware County Sheriff Tony Skinner as a co-defendant — on Thursday, Miller wrote, "The demand that plaintiffs provide contract information is no esoteric rule of civil procedure, but rather the obvious minimal requirement for pursuing a lawsuit."
In the lawsuit, Williams alleged Eaton officers — on July 17, 2020 — had broken into her home, violating her constitutional rights, and "broke my bones and sexually assaulted me."
The confrontation took place at an apartment complex in the 700 block of East Race Street. Eaton police have denied Williams' allegations of misconduct, maintaining their actions were appropriate under the circumstances and within the law.
Criminal charges against the former Eaton woman — including multiple counts of battery against a public safety officer and resisting law enforcement — were transferred from the Delaware County court system to Randolph Superior Court, where a hearing on a motion to dismiss the case is set for Aug. 1.
(Charges against Williams' husband stemming from the same incident were later dropped.)
Eaton officers, including Police Chief Jay Turner, in September 2020 filed their own lawsuit against Williams, claiming she had made "slanderous and false accusations" in Facebook postings and in a series of confrontations.
That lawsuit is still pending in Delaware Circuit Court 4.
Williams, now 38, faces two misdemeanor charges — domestic battery and battery — filed in Henry Circuit Court 3 in March 2022.
In that case, she is accused of striking two family members — one of them her husband — during a confrontation in Henry County on Sept. 8, 2021.
A warrant for her arrest has been pending in that case since April 14, 2022.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ex-Eaton woman's federal lawsuit against police dismissed
