A mobile phone video shows police in the US breaking a car window and then using a stun gun on an adult male passenger after officers stopped the driver for not wearing a seat belt.
The video, recorded by the driver's 14-year-old son, captured a September 24 confrontation between two adults in the car and police that's the basis of a lawsuit filed in US District Court against several officers and the Indiana city of Hammond.
The driver, Lisa Mahone, had been pulled over when officers demanded that passenger Jamal Jones produce identification - something the lawsuit says Jones did not have with him.
The video shows officer breaking the front passenger window with a Billy club, with shards of glass showering the vehicle's four occupants, including Mahone's son and daughter in the back seat.
An officer then shocked Jones with a stun gun.
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Before that, Mahone could be heard saying she's scared after officers pulled a gun on them.
The lawsuit says Mahone called the emergency 911 dispatch number when she became concerned about the officers' actions.
"The officers from Hammond Police Department escalated the incident without any basis and without any cause," lawyer Dana Kurtz said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Hammond police spokesman Lt Richard Hoyda did not immediately return a call seeking comment but issued a statement saying Jones had refused to comply with orders to get out of the car and that officers were concerned for their safety after seeing his hands drop to a centre console in the vehicle.
"Officers who make legal traffic stops are allowed to ask passengers inside of a stopped vehicle for identification and to request that they exit a stopped vehicle for the officer's safety without a requirement of reasonable suspicion," the statement said.
According to the lawsuit, Jones had surrendered his driver's licence after being stopped for not paying his insurance and instead tried to show the officers a ticket with his information on it.
The lawsuit says the officers rejected the ticket, but police said Jones had refused to hand it over.
The complaint alleges officers shocked Jones a second time after removing him from the car.
The lawsuit alleges excessive force, false arrest, assault and battery and other charges.
It seeks unspecified damages.
The lawsuit mentions that two of the officers had been sued in the past for excessive force or unlawful arrest. Court records indicate an undisclosed settlement in one of the cases.
