No joke: Driver sues IMPD officers over her bumper sticker

The bumper stickers proclaiming "unmarked police car" that sell for $2.50 online are intended as a joke.

But two Indianapolis police officers apparently were seriously concerned when they saw that bumper sticker taped to the back window of a silver minivan. They stopped the driver and made her remove the sticker.

The officers now face a lawsuit alleging they violated the constitutional rights of the Franklin woman driving the minivan, something the American Civil Liberties Union takes rather seriously.

It's also no laughing matter for the city.

"We take every lawsuit against the city extremely seriously," said Indianapolis corporation counsel Samantha DeWester, who was informed of the lawsuit Monday but had not reviewed the details. Beyond that, the office does not comment on pending litigation, DeWester said.

Kelly Eskew, an attorney with the ACLU of Indiana, said Pamela Konchinsky, 56, was headed to work about 5:50 p.m. June 17 and pulling into a Downtown Indianapolis parking garage when she saw two squad cars behind her, the first with his light bar flashing.

She pulled into the first spot she could find and began to get out of her 2004 Toyota minivan when one of the officers ordered her to stay in her vehicle, Eskew said.

"The officer asked her, 'Is this your vehicle?' and asked for her license and registration," Eskew said. "And then he said, 'With that bumper sticker, someone could think you're impersonating a police officer.'"

He also suggested that someone who doesn't like police might try to shoot Konchinsky, Eskew said.

"It's a joke — it's ironic," Eskew said of the bumper sticker. "It's like you or I wearing a T-shirt that says, 'Undercover cop.'"

Still, Konchinsky felt compelled to comply with the officers' demands and was told she was "free to go" only after doing so, Eskew said. Nervous and intimidated, Konchinsky did not try to argue with the officers or refuse to remove the bumper sticker.

That day, Konchinsky was at least 10 minutes late to work because of the incident and explained what happened to co-workers. One of them suggested she call the ACLU, which she did the next day.

The ACLU alleges in the civil lawsuit that the two officers violated Konchinsky's First Amendment right to freedom of speech and her Fourth Amendment rights "by their unreasonable detention and interrogation."

Konchinsky was not arrested or taken to be booked, no arrest report was filed and the case was not taken to the Marion County prosecutor's office for a review for possible filing of charges. She was not given a citation or a ticket.

Unnerved at the time, she did not note the names of the officers, Eskew said. The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court, refers to them as IMPD Officers John Doe I and John Doe II. However, the lawsuit says their names will be determined during the discovery process.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department itself is not named as a defendant.

Officer Chris Wilburn said that Chief Rick Hite was unavailable for comment and that the department does not comment on pending litigation.

Konchinsky, who works three jobs, is the mother of one adult and one school-age child. She had taped the bumper sticker to the inside of her back window about seven months ago after receiving it as a gift from a friend, Indianapolis Star photographer Frank Espich, who saw it as a joke. Until June 17, she had no problems because of the sticker, Eskew said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, partly to make up for lost wages, and legal costs. It also asks for an injunction requiring "defendants to cease and desist from further suspicionless detention, interrogation, harassment, and intimidation related to the humorous content of bumper stickers."

And Konchinsky has a specific request:

"Ms. Konchinsky has not put the bumper sticker back on her minivan but wishes to do so."

Call Star reporter Diana Penner at (317) 444-6249. Follow her on Twitter : @dianapenner.