City says no evidence of police negligence in teen's death

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) - The city of Anderson has asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the family of a teenager who killed himself in the back of a police car more than three years ago.

Attorneys for the city say in court documents that police officers didn't know that 17-year-old Jace Zook was suicidal and didn't do anything wrong by leaving him alone in the squad car for about a half hour while searching a crime scene in August 2012 .

Authorities say Zook strangled himself using a seat belt after he and two other teens were arrested on suspicion of trying to break into the Madison County Shrine Club in Anderson.

The teenager's family filed the wrongful death lawsuit last year, seeking $1.5 million in damages and better training for the city's police officers. It names nine Anderson officers as defendants and faults the city for not properly training police to deal with emotionally disturbed people.

Charles Finster of Kokomo said his grandson didn't deserve to die and that the assistant police chief who spoke with the family didn't adequately explain what happened.

"All that he could tell us is that, yes, it happened. His response was, 'Who would ever think that a scrawny 17-year-old teenager could wriggle out of handcuffs, get a seat belt around his neck and strangle himself?'" Finster told The Herald Bulletin (http://bit.ly/21oLukY ). "That's not a good enough response for us."

The city's motion filed Nov. 20 with the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis said Zook didn't threaten suicide to the officers, who believed his comment that he wouldn't go back to juvenile detention indicated he might try to flee.

"There is simply no evidence that any of the officers acted with deliberate indifference to a serious medical need," the motion said.

The judge hasn't taken any action regarding the city's request to throw the case out.

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Information from: The Herald Bulletin, http://www.theheraldbulletin.com