Muncie settles lawsuit stemming from 2014 police search
MUNCIE — When local police were searching a downtown Muncie house for the body of a missing woman in August 2014, officers pointed automatic weapons at a 15-year-old girl with autism who "has the mental capacity of an eight year old."
Now the city of Muncie and town of Albany have settled for $85,000 a federal court lawsuit filed by the girl's mother.
The search for the body of Brianna DiBattiste didn't produce any results, although Gina Bosworth's adult son was arrested on drug-related charges after the raid.
But the emotional impact of the search on Bosworth's daughter prompted the now-former Muncie woman to file the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. Court records reflect that the lawsuit, targeting not only the city of Muncie and the town of Albany but also police officers from each community, was dismissed this spring after a settlement agreement among the parties involved. U.S. District Court Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson approved the agreement and dismissed the lawsuit in May.
In the agreement that settled the lawsuit, the city of Muncie paid $50,000 to Bosworth and the town of Albany paid $35,000, for a total of $85,000, Bosworth's attorney, Richard Waples, told The Star Press.
"They weren't physically hurt, but it was extremely emotionally upsetting," Waples said about Bosworth and her daughter.
DiBattiste, a 25-year-old from Dunkirk, disappeared June 16, 2014. Her remains were ultimately found in September 2014 in a rural area of Jay County. But before that discovery, a man from Dunkirk, Curtis Ray Neal, led police on what authorities called several wild goose chases, including taking them to the house at 311 S. Council St. in downtown Muncie on Aug. 13, 2014.
According to the Bosworth lawsuit, Neal implicated her adult son, Jeremiah Rupel, in DiBattiste's disappearance, telling investigators that Rupel "was responsible for the death ... and had concealed her body in his basement."
Investigators knew that Neal was "not credible," according to the lawsuit, but conducted the search after Neal said Rupel, who he knew as "Joel," asked for help in moving the body of a woman he had killed.
Bosworth's lawsuit, which refers to her daughter as "G.B.," recounted what happened.
"When police executed the search warrant at the Bosworth residence, they approached and entered the home in full SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) gear with their weapons brandished," the suit said. "The officers shouted commands and pointed their guns at Bosworth and G.B. One officer pointed his gun directly at G.B.'s head.
"G.B., who is autistic and has the mental capacity of an eight year old, was extremely scared and upset at what was happening. None of the occupants were presented with a search warrant or told the real reason for the search warrant; instead, the police told Ms. Bosworth they were searching for guns and drugs."
Police search downtown house in missing woman case
Later in 2014, Rupel, then 33, was charged with two counts of possession of drugs. The criminal charges were dismissed in October 2015 after the search warrant that led to his arrest was ruled invalid.
On the night of the Council Street search, Bosworth and her daughter were taken to police offices at Muncie City Hall for questioning. "At the police station, G.B., who relies heavily on her mother due to her disability, was separated from her mother and questioned by police outside her mother's presence. ... After three hours at the police station, police released Ms. Bosworth and G.B. but prohibited them from returning to their home on Council Street."
When Bosworth and her daughter returned to the Council Street house the next day, they found that two chairs were broken, a mattress was removed "and the home was completely ransacked."
"Ms. Bosworth and G.B. suffered damages as a result of these events in the form of loss of liberty and freedom, emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment and damage to their property," according to their lawsuit. "Pointing a loaded firearm at the head of G.B. constituted excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution."
Before the lawsuit was settled this spring, several Muncie police officers who were named in the lawsuit denied that the references to "officers" in the lawsuit referred to them, said they had "no knowledge" of the search warrant and denied they violated Bosworth and her daughter's civil rights.
Shannon Henry, chief of police of Albany and a Delaware County commissioner, led the search for DiBattiste. He acknowledged the lawsuit this week but said he couldn't comment.
Muncie Police Chief Steve Stewart on Tuesday deferred comments to attorneys involved in the case.
Contact Keith Roysdon at 765-213-5828 and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
DNA confirms remains are missing DiBattiste
'Somebody knows': A year later, questions remain