'Sometimes the police are wrong': Man settles $650,000 suit with city

Carlos Starks will never regain the 11 months he spent behind bars, awaiting trial for a murder he knew he didn't commit.

But nearly five years after his initial arrest, the days Starks spent mired in court battles are over. The lawsuit he filed against an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detective and the city for what he says was a wrongful arrest and imprisonment has been settled for $650,000 in federal court — the largest amount in such a case in recent city history and perhaps ever.

The 2012 lawsuit filed against Detective Lesia Moore alleged that she made false and misleading statements to pursue a murder warrant for Starks' arrest in the 2010 slaying of Douglas Craft, who was shot four times while carrying groceries to his apartment. Starks was released two days into his murder trial, after doubts were expressed by witnesses who had initially identified him in a photo lineup.

Although the suit was settled April 28, the city's first public acknowledgment of the resolution came in an e-mailed news release early Saturday morning that did not include the settlement amount. In addition to the financial agreement, the city said it also supports the expungementof the murder charge from Starks' record, though it does not admit to any liability in the case.

"This lawsuit needed to be pursued to hold the police accountable and to show people that sometimes the police are wrong," Starks said in a statement. "I survived 11 months in a jail cell away from my family and friends — for no reason at all. Every day I woke up and every day I went to sleep, I was in jail for a murder that I did not commit and did not know anything about. It was horrible!

"I have survived, and I have moved on."

An e-mail reply from Samantha DeWester, the city's public access counselor, indicated she was unavailable until Tuesday. Attempts to reach Moore through police authorities for a comment on the settlement were unsuccessful.

Indianapolis Director of Public Safety Troy Riggs said he believes settling in Starks' case was the right decision.

"I think if the officers are right, we're going to fight for them. When I think there have been mistakes, then at that point, we'll settle," said Riggs, who took office two years after Starks' arrest. "Obviously, I had some concerns regarding the investigation and thought that was appropriate."

In addition to Moore and the city, Riggs' predecessor, Frank Straub, was named in the lawsuit, along with IMPD Chief Rick Hite, Mayor Greg Ballard and the Department of Public Safety.

TheStarks case raised questions among legal experts and attorneys who scrutinized the methods detectives used to make an arrest in the case.

After Craft's killing in July 2010, witnesses described a man walking away from the scene who had dreadlocks and was wearing a red shirt and black pants. One witness described him as short and stocky.

Twenty minutes later, police stopped Starks at a nearby bus stop on his way to work. Starks, who also has deadlocks, is skinny and stands more than 6 feet tall, and was wearing a black shirt at the time.

Police let Starks go, but Moore, the detective, added his picture to a photo lineup alongside five other men with dreadlocks. The photo, which was from an old misdemeanor arrest, showed Starks wearing a red shirt. Three witnesses who were shown the photo fingered Starks, though two expressed doubts while doing so. The third witness who picked Starks was a 10-year-old child.

"I'm not sure, but he sorta looked like number four," said one witness, according to a transcript. "I'm not sure, but he's the closest."

Starks was arrested in October 2010.

The federal complaint filed by Starks alleges that Moore failed to disclose that Starks was taller and thinner than the man described by witnesses. Documents say Moore did not disclose the witnesses' doubts about their identification. The case also included no murder weapon and no fingerprints.

"While our city's police department is mostly filled with everyday heroes, this false arrest for murder was a breathtaking example of enormous abuse of police power," said Kevin Betz, the attorney who represented Starks. "The sworn statement from the detective that was the basis of the arrest included blatant lies and materially misleading omissions. There simply was no real evidence for making an arrest — much less an arrest for murder and to lock someone in jail for 11 months. It reflects a sad and serious breach of trust by the police department with the entire city."

The Rev. Charles Harrison, the president of the anti-crime, faith-based Ten Point Coalition, said the Starks case reflects broadly on the sometimes problematic relationship between police and the black community.

"Certainly for us African Americans, this I guess, would be considered justice, because too often, blacks feel like at some times they are wrongfully accused," Harrison said. "So I'm happy that the city has settled and that this individual hopefully feels some sense of justice."

Riggs said tension between community members and law enforcement are of "extreme concern" to the department.

"I will say that it's always troublesome for me when a whole group of police officers can be tarnished based on the inappropriate conduct of a few," he said. "The only thing we ask for is give us time for the investigation to move forward."

Though Moore is still employed by IMPD, she no longer works in the homicide investigations unit, said IMPD spokesman Sgt. Kendale Adams. He said he was unaware of any internal reviews involving Moore.

Bob Hammerle, a local defense attorney, called the settlement "profound" – but he stressed that it will prove most valuable only if it extends to the city's future training of police investigators.

"It will only have meaning down the road," he said, "if they're going to instruct their detectives to use this case as a model not to make this mistake again."

Star reporters Kristine Guerra and John Tuohy contributed to this story.

Call Star reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis