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The jury in a trial for a Fort Wayne woman who allegedly battered a Warsaw Police Department officer started its deliberations during the late afternoon hours Wednesday.
Audrey Lynn Brown, 57, Fort Wayne, is charged with battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer, a level 5 felony; battery by bodily waste and resisting law enforcement causing bodily injury, both level 6 felonies; and disorderly conduct, a class B misdemeanor.
The state's case was presented by Deputy Prosecutor Dan Hampton. Defense attorney Travis McConnell represented Brown, who waived her right to attend the proceedings.
In Indiana, a Level 5 felony is punishable by one to six years in prison, with an advisory sentence of three years.
Affidavit of Probable Cause
On Dec. 30, 2021, officers with the Warsaw Police Department and Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office responded to a vehicle accident at East Winona Avenue and Buffalo Street, Warsaw. A Warsaw officer noticed a woman, later identified as Brown, briskly walking west and learned she was one of the involved drivers that law enforcement needed to speak with.
According to court documents, the officer yelled for Brown to stop walking, with Brown yelling back "in an angry tone" that she had been released. The officer told Brown she had been medically released but not released from the accident scene. Brown stated she was going to go back to the ambulance and began walking toward the accident.
The officer asked Brown to place her hands behind her back and said she was being detained. Brown allegedly tensed up and resisted by pulling her arms and using her body to get away from the officer's hold. She then dug her nails into the officer's hands, causing pain to the officer.
Two additional officers assisted the Warsaw officer in placing Brown into handcuffs, with officers continuing to give Brown verbal commands to relax. During the incident, Brown "lunged aggressively" to get her face and body close to the Warsaw officer's face. As she yelled, extra saliva in her mouth spit directly onto the left side of the officer's face, into the officer's eye and mouth.
Trial Proceedings
Nine women and four men were seated on the jury in Kosciusko Superior Court III around 10:45 a.m., with Judge Chad Miner presiding.
In his opening statement to the jury, Hampton detailed facts listed in the affidavit of probable cause, saying Brown left the accident scene and became belligerent with police.
"You're going to see this (body camera footage) and think, 'Man, what is going on?'" said Hampton, who said the jury would find Brown guilty on all counts beyond a reasonable doubt.
McConnell said Dec. 30, 2021, was a "really bad day" for Brown, with McConnell stating Brown wasn't at fault for the vehicle accident. He told the jury Brown thought medics said she could leave and was fully cooperative with law enforcement when officers told her to stay.
He also said body camera footage would not show Brown digging her nails into the officer's hands or arms, stating that while Brown is guilty to some degree, she was not guilty of everything she was charged with.
The state's first witness was Warsaw police officer Mason Metzinger, who was the lead investigator of the accident. He told the jury it was a two-vehicle accident and received information that Brown, one of the involved drivers, was in an ambulance. When Metzinger went over to the ambulance, he was informed Brown left.
Metzinger testified that he saw Brown standing with another Warsaw officer, who began detaining Brown as she was tensing up and yelling profanities. He also recalled hearing the officer telling Brown not to spit on her.
Metzinger's body camera footage was played for the jury, with footage showing a total of three officers placing Brown into handcuffs. One witness said they stopped because they thought Brown was trying to leave the area.
As Brown was being placed into a police vehicle, she accused the Warsaw officer of lying about being spat on.
In cross-examination, McConnell asked Metzinger about Brown providing her identifying information to a Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office deputy who arrived at the scene prior to Metzinger.
Metzinger confirmed Brown had provided her information to the KCSO deputy, but that he didn't have the chance to check its accuracy. McConnell asked if state statute required drivers to give their information to one officer or multiple, and Metzinger said he didn't know.
Metzinger also said he was unaware of the KCSO deputy walking alongside Brown to the ambulance and didn't recall Brown's fingernails on anyone's skin.
Hampton then played video footage from the backseat of Metzinger's police vehicle, which showed Brown saying, "Tell her I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to spit on her."
The state's second and final witness was the Warsaw police officer allegedly battered by Brown. The officer said she saw Brown walking west on Winona Avenue, away from the accident, and approached her. She tried to defuse the situation and keep Brown from leaving. As Brown began walking southeast, the officer told Brown to stop and put her hands behind her back.
While detaining Brown, the officer said Brown's fingernails dug into the "meaty part" of her hand, with her nails dragging across the officer's wrist, digging up the top layer of her skin. Brown then continued yelling and spit, with the spit hitting the officer's eye and part of her mouth. The officer said she had to contact medical personnel about preventative measures after being spit on, saying Brown refused to provide any medical information.
Body camera footage from the officer was played for the jury, with the video showing Brown being stopped a short distance away from the accident. The officer told Brown she wasn't free to leave and that she needed to wait to get her paperwork back and receive information on where her vehicle was being towed to. An EMS worker in the video also said Brown had been rude to them, with Brown signing off on medical treatment and telling medical personnel she was walking home. At the time, Brown resided on Lake Street in Warsaw.
In cross-examination, the officer said she placed Brown in handcuffs because she was trying to leave the accident scene. McConnell asked the officer about the KCSO deputy walking alongside Brown back to the ambulance, and the officer said that was not her perspective of it. She agreed Brown and the deputy were standing next to each other, but that she didn't know where they were going.
McConnell had the court replay some clips from the body camera footage, with the deputy saying Brown would be escorted to an ambulance. The officer said she didn't hear any statements made by the deputy at the scene.
She also testified that Brown was walking away from Metzinger, but McConnell said body camera footage showed Metzinger was nearby and assisted in taking Brown into custody.
In further questioning by both Hampton and McConnell, the officer said Brown's nails dug into her hand before she was placed in handcuffs and that she did not bleed or sustain scars as a result of Brown's actions.
For evidence, McConnell asked the court to take judicial notice of Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1, which relates to a driver's duties after being involved in an accident.
In closing argument, Hampton said the case "involves something you don't want to experience in the community."
He told the jury Brown was argumentative and combative throughout the entire incident, and that any level of pain the officer suffered met the definition of bodily injury in the state of Indiana.
McConnell stated Brown was not out looking for a fight and was visibly upset after the accident.
"The law requires us to separate fear from injury, and fact from exaggeration," said McConnell.
He noted there was no physical evidence to show the officer was injured and that Brown could not be found guilty of causing bodily injury to the officer.
Hampton told the jury not to speculate on the case and to focus on the evidence.
"In this context, the officer has no reason to lie," said Hampton. "The evidence talks for itself ... officers shouldn't be submitted to this behavior ever."
