Opinion
2:24-CV-281
10-28-2024
KELVIN MCGILL & PAMELA HORNE, Plaintiffs, v. HAMMOND POLICE DEPARTMENT & CITY OF HAMMOND, INDIANA, Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
Andrew P. Rodovich, United States Magistrate Judge
This matter is before the court sua sponte. The parties have 7 days to object to a dismissal of the Hammond Police Department based on Sow v. Fortville Police Department, 636 F.3d 293, 300 (7th Cir. 2011). The United States Supreme Court has instructed that local government liability under § 1983 “is dependent on an analysis of state law.” McMillian v. Monroe County, 520 U.S. 781, 786, 117 S.Ct. 1734, 138 L.Ed.2d 1 (1997). Under Indiana law, a “[m]unicipal corporation” is a “unit, ... or other separate local governmental entity that may sue and be sued.” Ind. Code § 36-1-2-10. A “‘[u]nit‘ means county, municipality, or township,” Ind. Code § 36-1-2-23, and a “[municipality” is a “city or town,” Ind. Code § 36-1-2-11. Thus, the Indiana statutory scheme does not grant municipal police departments the capacity to sue or be sued. See Martin v. Fort Wayne Police Dep't., 2010 WL 4876728, at *3 (N.D. Ind. 2010).