Family sues city after Mishawaka teen killed by suspect running from police

A police chase that ended up killing two teenagers is at the center of a recently filed lawsuit against the city of Mishawaka, with family of Elizabeth Johnson-Neher saying officers were negligent in their decision to chase a suspect through a residential area.

Johnson-Neher, 18, died in the Dec. 2020 crash along with her boyfriend, Clayton McClish, 19, as the pair were driving south on Spring Street. As McClish’s Chevy Cavalier entered the intersection of Spring and 13th streets, he was hit by a silver Pontiac Grand Prix fleeing from police.

The lawsuit, filed by Johnson-Neher's parents last week, says the chase was dangerous from the start and that Mishawaka officers were not properly trained in reasonable procedures governing pursuits.

A Mishawaka city attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit and forwarded reporters to a Merrillville law firm representing the city. Attorneys from the firm did not immediately respond to a phone message Thursday.

Dan Pfeifer, a South Bend attorney representing Johnson-Neher's family, also did not return a phone call Thursday afternoon.

Fatal crash

Johnson-Neher and McClish were killed in the evening of Dec. 2, 2020, as a result of the collision with the fleeing driver. Members of McClish’s family told The Tribune the day after the crash the couple was driving to McClish’s house after he had worked for a few hours making food deliveries for Uber Eats and Door Dash.

Johnson-Neher and McClish were just a few blocks away from McClish’s house when they were hit by a Pontiac allegedly driven by 23-year-old Jesse Lottie, who police say had broken into a home in the 500 block of East 12th Street and was attempting to drive away from pursuing officers.

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A resident of the area told reporters he estimated the Pontiac was going between 50 and 60 mph when it ignored a stop sign at the intersection and hit McClish. The lawsuit says Johnson-Neher and McClish were ejected from the vehicle and died from their injuries at the hospital.

Two men in the Pontiac ran away on foot after the crash, while a woman who was in the car stayed at the scene. In August, 18 months after the crash, Lottie was charged with resisting law enforcement and leaving the scene of a fatal crash, with court documents saying the other man in the car that night identified him as the driver.

Court and jail records show Lottie was never taken into custody in regards to the incident and a warrant is currently out for his arrest.

Police pursuit

The main allegation of the lawsuit is that Mishawaka police officers were negligent by chasing the driver through a residential area when they had no knowledge that he had committed a violent felony.

As the pursuit unfolded, “the risk of death and injury to the general public exceeded the benefit of apprehending the suspect,” the suit says.

The crash occurred near the intersection of South Spring and West 13th streets, adjacent to the now-closed Awesome Place Bar and Grill. The neighborhood is primarily residential, with Rose Park and the Hannah Lindahl Children’s Museum a few blocks away.

According to court documents filed in Lottie’s criminal case, police were first dispatched when a woman called 911 and whispered that she needed help. A second call soon came into dispatchers that a man had kicked in the front door of an apartment.

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A press release put out by the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office the day after the incident said police were chasing the driver's car for “less than a minute” when the crash occurred.

According to the Mishawaka Police Department’s policy on pursuits at the time of the incident, the decision on whether or not to start a pursuit is largely up to officers’ judgment, although officers are instructed to “weigh the importance of apprehending suspects who unlawfully flee from law enforcement against the risks associated with vehicle pursuits.”

The department’s policy does not specify what offenses necessitate a pursuit but does include a number of factors for officers to consider when initiating a chase, such as road conditions, the safety of the public, traffic, the types of vehicles involved and the alleged crime committed.

The lawsuit does not specify the damages sought but says Johnson-Neher's parents “have experienced and continue to experience emotional distress, mental and physical pain and suffering and mental anguish.”

The December 2020 crash was the second incident that year in which a person fleeing from police officers caused a crash that killed an uninvolved party.

In February 2020, Travis Logan was being pursued by officers with the Indiana State Police, Elkhart County police and Mishawaka when he hit and killed 58-year-old John Riedle at the intersection of McKinley Avenue and Byrkit Street.

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Family of Mishawaka teen killed by suspect fleeing police sues city