The family of Rodney D. Huffman has sued the City of Indianapolis, alleging that an off-duty police officer driving a marked patrol car struck and killed the 58-year-old as he was legally crossing Michigan Road. The lawsuit claims the officer failed to wait for Huffman to finish crossing before the collision occurred.
The crash happened on Michigan Road on September 15, 2024, when the marked police vehicle was turning southbound from a parking lot and struck Huffman, according to WIBC 93.1 FM. Huffman died in the hospital six days later, on September 21, 2024. The lawsuit was filed under the Indiana Tort Claims Act, which sets specific rules for lawsuits against government entities, and puts the city on notice that a claim has been made.
Attorney Mario Massillamany, who represents the Huffman family, said the filing is meant to formally notify the city that “the claim is made and the family believes the city is responsible.” Massillamany also said state law limits how much the family could ultimately recover, regardless of the jury's findings on liability.
What the Law Caps and What Comes Next
State law sets a $700,000 maximum for the claim. The Huffman family can receive a maximum of $700,000 under that cap, though a jury could theoretically award a larger amount to the family even if the city's ultimate payout is limited by law.
The city typically must respond within 30 days, after which the case can move into discovery, when both sides exchange documents, take depositions, and develop the facts of the case. The next formal step in the litigation is the City of Indianapolis's response. From there, the matter could be resolved through settlement or trial.
To succeed, Huffman's attorney must show that the officer was speeding, driving recklessly, impaired by drugs or alcohol, braking improperly, or changing lanes improperly, and the family must also prove that the officer's actions legally caused Huffman's death. The case also involves the City of Indianapolis.
A Pattern of Fatal IMPD Vehicle Cases
Huffman's case follows other high-profile wrongful death suits stemming from fatal collisions involving IMPD vehicles. In June 2025, the estate of 34-year-old bicyclist Joseph Stiger filed a wrongful death lawsuit against IMPD, the city, and Officer Mark Brown, after Brown's patrol car struck and killed Stiger on East 10th Street in July 2023, while the officer was reportedly responding to an emergency call. And in May 2021, a federal wrongful death lawsuit was filed against the city and an IMPD officer after 23-year-old pregnant pedestrian Ashlynn Lisby and her unborn child were killed by a patrol car in May 2020 on South Harding Street, with filings in that case alleging the officer was driving 33 mph over the speed limit, as reported by WFYI. The Lisby case involved a civil lawsuit, and the reporting also described police actions after the crash.
Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in Indianapolis
Huffman was killed in a pedestrian crash in Indianapolis.
Huffman was crossing Michigan Road when he was struck.
The reporting says the officer would submit to toxicology tests as protocol. Whether that testing was conducted in Huffman's case, along with any internal review IMPD may have undertaken regarding the off-duty officer, has not been detailed in the family's lawsuit or the reporting on it so far.
