ELKHART, Ind. - Two exonerated victims and a police whistleblower out of Elkhart filed lawsuits against the city and its police department for allegations of misconduct dating back to 2011.

The lawsuits, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, claim in part that Elkhart officers framed a man for a crime he did not commit. They also claim members of the force and the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office conspired to end the career of a former officer after she refused to engage in police misconduct.

Loevy & Loevy Attorneys at Law, who represent the plaintiffs in the three cases, argue Elkhart is on its way to becoming the wrongful conviction capital of North America.

Exonerees’ allegations of misconduct

In 2011, plaintiff DeWayne Dunn was sentenced to 58 years in prison for the 2008 death of Angel Torres, who died after falling down a set of stairs from a second-floor balcony in Elkhart.

The initial investigation revealed Torres died after an accidental fall while intoxicated. The lawsuit states that former Elkhart police officer Michael Sigsbee coerced a witness to make false statements indicating Dunn murdered Torres in order to close the case and pin the crime on Dunn.

Another defendant, current Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker, enlisted defendant Dr. Scott Wagner to falsify an autopsy report claiming Torres died by homicide, according to the lawsuit.

The State’s theory concluded Dunn beat Torres to death at the bottom of the...

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