Judge denies government’s motion to dismiss wrongful death suit

June 04, 2012 6:45 pm, By Sarah Tompkins sarah.tompkins@nwi.com, (219) 836-3780

HAMMOND | A federal judge denied the government’s motion to dismiss the wrongful death suit of an alleged Latin Dragon gang member whom an officer shot and killed during an attempted arrest in 2007.

Rosalio Rincon was 28 when he was killed near Hobart’s Westfield Southlake mall. He had recently been indicted on cocaine distribution charges, and a local Drug Enforcement Agency-led task force was trying to execute an arrest warrant for Rincon.

The original plan was to arrest Rincon in the early morning at one of the residences he frequented, according to court documents. But while law enforcement was conducting surveillance, they believed they witnessed a drug transaction and decided to perform a traffic stop on the car Rincon was driving instead.

Judge denies government’s motion to dismiss wrongful death suit