Lawsuit settled over Indiana sheriff's shoving of teenager
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A federal lawsuit over allegations that a northeastern Indiana sheriff shoved a 15-year-old boy after drinking alcohol at a festival has been dismissed after the county agreed to a settlement.
A judge this past week approved the dismissal request from lawyers for Allen County Sheriff David Gladieux and the teenager’s parents.
The moves come after the Allen County Council voted to pay $55,000 for the lawsuit settlement. Gladieux said in September he would reimburse the county and apologized for the altercation, calling it an “unnecessary and preventable incident.”
Brad and Erin Bullerman’s son was a volunteer during Fort Wayne’s Three Rivers Festival in July 2019. The couple’s lawsuit alleged that Gladieux “smelled of alcohol” and pushed their son to the ground, injuring him when he fell onto a metal stake, after the teen asked to see Gladieux’s VIP pass to a restroom area.
Gladieux, a Republican, first was elected sheriff in 2014. He faced a misdemeanor battery charge for the confrontation but those charges were dropped after he agreed to complete alcohol and anger management courses.
The county has paid multiple lawyers about $51,000 to represent Gladieux, The Journal Gazette reported.