STATE OF INDIANA )

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY CIRCUIT/SUPERIOR COURT)SS:

COUNTY OF ST. JOSEPH )

PASTOR MARIO SIMS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) )

v. ) CAUSE NO. )

PETE BUTTIGIEG, )

MIKE SCHMUL, )

TIM CORBETT, )

CITY OF SOUTH BEND INDIANA, )

STEPHANIE STEELE, as Corporation ) Counsel for the City of South Bend, )

TASHA REED OUTLAW, ) ANN-CAROL NASH, ) CRISTAL BRISCO, all named individuals ) are current or former South Bend City ) employees, and are sued in their official ) and individual capacities, ) ) Defendants )

            JURY DEMAND VERIFIED COMPLAINT AT LAW NOW COMES the Plaintiff Pastor Mario Sims (“Pastor Sims”), and by and through his attorneys, Thomas F. Godfrey and Johnny W. Ulmer, demands damages from the defendants, and in support states as follows:

STATEMENT OF FACTS 1. In April of 2019, ABC21 News Anchor and Investigative Reporter and now NBC UNIVERSAL MEDIA, LLC Reporter Alexis Rivas Shear, contacted Mario L. Sims, a Senior Pastor of Doulos Chapel, 608 South St. Joseph Street, South Bend, Indiana by telephone and asked if she could come to the church. 1

2. Shortly after her call she arrived at the church with a cameraman and another Reporter.

3. Reporter Alexis Rivas Shear, disclosed Tim Corbett, who in 1994 was a South Bend Police Officer, stated to her that he had planted evidence in the State of Indiana vs. Mario L. Sims in 1994. She then recorded an interview of Pastor Sims.

4. While conducting the interview, she received a telephone call from her station. After concluding the call, she advised Pastor Sims, that her station executives had informed her based on Tim Corbett's admission she is now a witness to a crime and to return to the station immediately.

5. As she left, she advised Pastor Sims to hold off for at least a week taking any public action as she wanted to discuss with her station executives what they wanted her to do with the story.

6. Prior to coming to Doulos Chapel that day she also gave a verbal statement to Elkhart Police Department Officer Davin Hackett, regarding Tim Corbett's admission of planting evidence in Pastor Sims' case, who in turn reported it to Internal Affairs at EPD, and also to former South Bend Board of Public Safety President Pat Cotrell, who is also a former South Bend Police Officer and to former South Bend Police Officer and to City Councilman Derek Dieter.

7. After a week went by and not hearing from Reporter Alexis Rivas Shear, Pastor Mario contacted her by phone. During that call she stated she was afraid for her life. 2

8. Sims was aware that at least one law enforcement officer supervised by Tim Corbett in his position as St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Commander, had previously harassed former South Bend Reporter Jacklyn Kelly to the point she was forced to leave town. Corbett also encouraged his supporters to harass Pastor Sims causing him to file several police reports with the Indiana State Police and St. Joseph County Police.

9. Reporter Alexis Rivas Shear stated it was okay though for Pastor Sims to act on what she had told him.

10. In September of 2019 Pastor Sims was made aware from an article by The Young Turks that Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Mike Schmuhl, and the City Legal Department were aware that Tim Corbett was a racist and had bragged about planting evidence to gain convictions of black defendants.

11. The Young Turks had obtained relevant discovery from the suit in which the City of South Bend had paid $500,000.00 to Tim Corbett and four others.

12. Pastor Sims, who had known he had not raped his wife and believed in 1994 before, during and after his criminal trial that Tim Corbett had planted evidence and that Tim Corbett was a racist but could not prove it previously until The Young Turks story in September of 2019 gave physical evidence to support what News Reporter Alexis Rivas Shear had said.

13. Pastor Sims has had no criminal record prior to Tim Corbett planting evidence to gain and sustain his conviction in 1994 or at any time after his release from prison in 2006. 3

14. As a result of the above, Pastor Sims has suffered financial loss, incurred damage to his reputation and been publicly humiliated by people identifying themselves as Pete Buttigieg supporters who at one point boasted in a Facebook Post in 2016 caused the South Bend Police to attempt to enter Doulos Chapel without a warrant claiming there was a meth lab inside. There was no meth lab and Pastor Sims suffered a stroke that day November 7, 2016.

15. People identifying themselves as Buttigieg supporters have threatened to disrupt Doulos Chapel services and burn the church and have actively interfered with efforts to raise funds for the church which houses feeds and clothes the homeless, calling the Pastor a “rapist” and creating online sites to dissuade the public from associating with him and have filed false reports with the St. Joseph County Board of Health regarding the church and other entities.

16. After Pastor Sims refused to agree to help the South Bend Police keep the peace at then candidate Donald Trump's rally in South Bend in 2016 five City Inspectors showed up at Doulos Chapel for an unannounced inspection, solely for the purposes of harassing Pastor Sims, and only left after Pastor Sims contacted FOX28. The Reporter determined all the inspectors found was a leaking roof.

17. At this time, it is difficult to determine the full extent of the damages my/our client is seeking because of the outrageous conduct of the named individuals.

18. Because of the 12- and 1/2-years Pastor Sims was totally innocent and was wrongly incarcerated after Tim Corbett planted evidence in his case and the numerous and continuous efforts to frustrate his ability to gather evidence needed 4 to overturn his conviction that has since 2012 been in the hands of those named above.

19. To shore up the false case against Pastor Sims, Tim Corbett fabricated evidence.

20. Based on the force of the fabricated evidence by Tim Corbett, Plaintiff was charged, prosecuted, and convicted of rape and criminal deviant conduct.

21. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

22. Never giving up on proving his innocence, Pastor Sims worked tirelessly to show that he had absolutely nothing to do with this crime, including making Access to Public Records Request to the South Bend City legal department.

23. Mrs. Karen DePaepe disclosed to South Bend City legal department at their request, Pete Buttigieg, Mike Schmul as then Mayor Buttigieg's Chief of Staff, City of South Bend City Legal staff, Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe (“ City Legal”), were aware that Corbett was racist and had planted evidence to gain convictions of black defendants from their positions and responsibilities in the City legal department, discovery in the tape case and from direct questions they asked Karen DePaepe about the tapes contents, all in violation of Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-2, Obstruction of justice, with Mike Schmul threatening Mrs. DePaepe not to disclose that Corbett was racist and had set up black defendants and Buttigieg lying to cover up his knowledge from Schmul and City Legal of Corbett's racism and planting evidence.

24. Pastor Sims, because of the disclosures made in September 2019 by the Young Turks article and Mrs. Karen DePaepe's WUBS FM radio interview in December 5 2019, that Mrs. DePaepe had informed Schmul, and the City legal staff members of Corbett planting evidence and being racist, Pastor Sims learned after Mrs. DePaepe's interview, he was not the first—nor the last person—that would be the victim of Corbett planting evidence as law enforcement officers that worked with Corbett and individuals that he had arrested, heard him use the word nigger, and knew him to be racist. Corbett has even committed perjury by denying under oath he worked on Pastor Sims criminal case to conceal his role in planting evidence.

25. This action is brought pursuant to Article 1, Section 12 of the Indiana Constitution to redress Defendants’ deprivation of Plaintiff’s guaranteed due course of law rights secured by the Indiana Constitution. PARTIES

26. Plaintiff Pastor Mario Sims is a 67-year-old, Black, honorably discharged United States Marine Corps veteran.

27. Defendant City of South Bend is an Indiana municipal corporation and is and/or was the employer of each of the defendants at all times relevant.

28. The City of South Bend is liable for the acts of the Defendants, which were undertaken within the scope of their employment for the City.

29. At all times relevant hereto, Defendant Tim Corbett was a law enforcement officer in the South Bend Police Department acting under color of law and within the scope of his employment for the City of South Bend. The defendants facilitated, condoned and approved and conspired to cover up the constitutional violations committed by Tim Corbett. 6

30. Defendants Pete Buttigieg, as Mayor of the City of South Bend, Mike Schmul as then Mayor Buttigieg's Chief of Staff, City of South Bend, City Legal staff: Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe, acting under color of law and within the scope of their employment for the City of South Bend, obstructed justice, spoliated evidence, and conspired to violate Pastor Mario Sims' right to due course of law guaranteed by Article 1, Section 12 of the Indiana Constitution.

31. As Mayor of the City of South Bend, defendant Pete Buttigieg facilitated, condoned racism in the South Bend Police Department, and conspired to obstruct justice, spoliate evidence, and approved the constitutional violations committed by City employees.

32. All Defendants are or were employees or acting as representatives of the City of South Bend and/or its Mayor, therefore were acting under the color of law, based upon policies and procedures of the City of South Bend, and are sued in their official and individual capacities.

33. As a direct and proximate result of the City of South Bend and Pete Buttigieg as Mayor failing to properly and adequately train and supervise its agents, Pastor Sims irreparably suffered both physical and emotional injuries.

34. For this malfeasance, the City of South Bend and defendants must answer individually. City of South Bend Policy and Practices

35. Consistent with municipal policy and practice, employees of the City of South Bend, Tim Corbett, manufactured evidence against innocent persons by 7 pressuring a witness to provide false statements implicating an innocent person, knowing that the statement was false. Furthermore, Tim Corbett as a South Bend Police Officer, Mike Schmul as then Mayor Buttigieg's Chief of Staff, City of South Bend City Legal staff, Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe, and Ann-Carol Nash who were aware that Corbett was racist and had planted evidence to gain convictions of blacks, suppressed exculpatory and/or impeaching material by concealing the racism and planting of evidence.

36. Consistent with municipal policy and practice, employees of the City of South Bend, including the named Defendants, concealed racism and evidence planting.

37. Consistent with municipal policy and practice, employees of the City of South Bend, including the named Defendants, concealed exculpatory evidence from Plaintiff.

38. The City of South Bend and the South Bend Police Department failed in 2012 to investigate cases in which Tim Corbett was involved where there were black defendants and failed to discipline Corbett for misconduct in any such cases.

39. The City of South Bend and its Police Department failed in 1994 and in the years prior to provide adequate training to Tim Corbett.

40. The City’s failure to train Tim Corbett proximately caused Corbett to plant evidence in Pastor Sims' case.

41. The City’s failure to train, supervise, and discipline Corbett effectively condoned, ratifies, and sanctions the kind of misconduct that Corbett committed against Plaintiff in this case. Constitutional violations such as those that occurred in this 8 case are encouraged and facilitated as a result of the City’s practices and de facto polices, as alleged above.

42. The policies and practices described in the foregoing paragraphs were consciously approved by the Mayor Buttigieg and City legal who were deliberately indifferent to the violations of constitutional rights described herein. COUNT. I– STATE LAW CLAIM INDEMNIFICATION AGAINST THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND

43. Plaintiff incorporates ¶¶ 1-41 herein.

44. Indiana law provides that public entities are directed to pay any tort judgment or settlement for compensatory damages for which employees are liable within the scope of their employment activities.

45. Defendants are or were employees of the City of South Bend, who acted within the scope of their employment in committing the misconduct described herein. COUNT. II– THIRD PARTY SPOLIATION OF EVIDENCE

46. Plaintiff incorporates ¶¶ 1-44 herein.

47. Beginning in 1994 when Pastor Mario Sims was falsely convicted of rape using evidence planted by Tim Corbett a South Bend Police Officer, and continuing when Mrs. DePaepe had informed Schmul, and the City legal staff members of Corbett planting evidence and being racist, there was a special duty created by both Indiana law and Brady v. Maryland, creating a special relationship requiring all of the Defendants to disclose the planted evidence. The harm involved in 9 concealing of the planted evidence and racism by Corbett was foreseeable and that the recognition of duty is consistent with Indiana’s policy of accountability.

48. Not only did the City of South Bend later promote Tim Corbett to Captain of the South Bend Police Department day shift, Buttigieg paid Corbett and others $500,000 for making racist statements in 2012, all while City legal defendants and Schmul lied, denying they knew the contents of the police tapes after they had asked Mrs. Karen DePaepe specifically what the contents were and she told them, but mislead public servants and withheld the information about Corbett's racism and planting evidence.

49. All named defendants had knowledge that litigation existed in the form of Pastor Sims' criminal case and litigation was probable to overturn his convicted once the racism and planted evidence was disclosed but took willful action to conceal the racism and evidence planting to disrupt the plaintiff's case, actually disrupting his efforts to obtain proof he was victimized by racist South Bend Police Office Tim Corbett in 1994 and damaging Pastor Sims by the defendant's acts and inactions. COUNT. III– NEGLIGENCE

50. Plaintiff incorporates ¶¶ 1-48 herein.

51. 1994, the named individual defendants as more fully shown above: (1) performed acts that a person of ordinary prudence in the same or similar circumstances would not have done; including obstructing justice, lying, conspiring to cover up planted evidence and racism used to gain Pastor Sims' conviction (2) failed to perform acts that a person of ordinary prudence would have done under the same 10 or similar circumstances, by disclosing the racism and planted evidence once told by Karen DePaepe, because the acts or omissions caused or contributed to the cause of the plaintiff's injuries by their conspiracy to obstruct justice, spoliation of evidence, violation of the state constitution and attorney deceit.

52. Buttigieg either knew from his Chief of staff Mike Schmul and City Legal employees what Karen DePaepe disclosed to Schmul and City legal and was complicit or Mike Schmul and City Legal were negligent in failing to inform Buttigieg. COUNT. IV– NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

53. Plaintiff incorporates ¶¶ 1-51 herein.

54. That defendants’ actions and continuing wrongs and harms from January 1994 until present constitutes extreme and outrageous conduct on behalf of the defendants, that intentionally or recklessly caused severe emotional distress to Pastor Mario Sims, resulting in him suffering a stroke in 2016.

55. Defendants’ knowing and intentional conspiracy to cover up the racism of Tim Corbett and Corbett planting evidence in Pastor Sims criminal case and in the cases of other black criminal defendants foreseeably and proximately caused Pastor Mario Sims emotional distress. COUNT V- FOR DEPRIVATION OF RIGHT TO DUE COURSE OF LAW (guaranteed by Article 1, Section 12 of the Indiana Constitution)

56. Plaintiff incorporates ¶¶ 1-54 herein. 11

57. The Defendant exercised power given to them by virtue of state law and made possible only because the defendants are "clothed with the authority of state law."

58. The action taken by the defendants, violate Pastor Mario Sims' rights, privileges or immunities guaranteed to all citizens by the Indiana Constitution, have been violated, caused the harm and was a result of an executed policy statement, ordinance, regulation or decision officially adopted and authorized by that body's employee or the result of South Bend City customs of allowing Tim Corbett to be employed in law enforce knowing he was/is racist and that he planted evidence in Pastor Sims' criminal case to wrongly gain his conviction.

59. The Due Process Clause and the Due Course of Law Clause prohibit state action which deprives a person of life, liberty, or property without the process or course of law that is due, that is, a fair proceeding. The same analysis is applicable to both the federal and state claims. Shook Heavy & Envtl. Constr. Group v. City of Kokomo, 632 N.E.2d 355, 361 (Ind. 1994) ("Our court has regularly applied the principles cited by Judge Robertson in federal constitutional due process' claims asserted in our court . . . . Because these are familiar principles in Indiana jurisprudence, we have no difficulty in explicitly extending them to article I, section 12, of our constitution.").

60. The misconduct described in this Count was objectively unreasonable and was undertaken intentionally, with malice, with reckless indifference to the rights of others, and in total disregard of the truth and Plaintiff’s clear innocence. 12

61. As a result of the Defendants’ misconduct described in this Count, Plaintiff suffered loss of liberty, great emotional pain and suffering, and other grievous and continuing injuries and damages.

62. The misconduct described in this Count by was undertaken pursuant to the policy and practice of the City of South Bend through its departments, in the manner more fully described. COUNT VI – FRAUDULENT CONCEALMENT OF THE EVIDENCE PLANTING AND RACISM

63. Plaintiff incorporates ¶¶ 1-62 herein.

64. South Bend City Legal staff, Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe, and Ann-Carol Nash had a duty as officers of the court to disclose Corbett was racist and had planted evidence but failed to do so.

65. The Plaintiff assumed South Bend City Legal staff, Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe, and Ann-Carol Nash would honor their duty under Brady v. Maryland and under the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct to disclose Corbett's corruption that lead to wrongful convictions after asking Karen DePaepe what she heard on the South Bend Police tapes but failed to do so, and justifiably relied upon officers of the Court to disclose Corbett's planting evidence, to Pastor Sims but concealed it from a court and Pastor Sims.

66. South Bend City Legal staff, Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe, and Ann-Carol Nash conduct was extreme and outrageous. 13

67. South Bend City Legal staff, Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe, and Ann-Carol Nash conduct caused the Plaintiff severe emotional distress.

68. The conduct of caused Plaintiff to suffer general and special damages in an amount to be proven at trial. COUNT VII - VIOLATIONS OF I.C.§33-43-1-8(a)(b) (As to South Bend City Legal staff, Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe, and Ann-Carol Nash)

69. Plaintiff incorporates ¶¶ 1-68 herein.

70. The defendants Stephanie Steele, Tasha Reed Outlaw, Cristal Briscoe, and AnnCarol Nash, who are licensed lawyers or were at all times relevant, as more fully shown above involved themselves in acts of deceit or collusion, with the intent to deceive a judge and court and the Plaintiff who was a party to the actions and judicial proceedings, in state court by not disclosing Corbett planting evidence and racism, which they were mandated to do by Brady v. Maryland, Indiana Professional Rules of Conduct and Article 1, Section 12 of the Indiana Constitution.

71. Plaintiff was injured by their violations of this statute and is seeking treble damages.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF Plaintiff respectfully requests the following relief:

A. As a direct and proximate result of the intentional, willful, malicious or negligent actions of Defendants, Pastor Mario Sims demands judgment be entered 14 against Defendants each and every one of them, jointly and severally, including an award of compensatory and actual damages in an amount to be determined at trial, as pled, special and punitive damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, pre-judgment interest, post-interest and costs, and such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper; and,

B. Such other relief as the Court deems just and proper. VERIFICATION OF PLAINTIFF I, Pastor Mario Sims, the plaintiff in the aforementioned cause, do verify that I have personal knowledge of the averments contained in the complaint.

I believe them to be, to the best of my personal knowledge, true and correct. /s/Pastor Mario Sims Pastor Mario Sims Date: January 15, 2020

Respectfully submitted: /s/Thomas F. Godfrey/ Thomas F. Godfrey Attorney at Law P.O. Box 866 Bristol, IN 46507 /s/Johnny W. Ulmer Johnny W. Ulmer, Bar #27373-71 Ulmer Law Offices, Inc. P.O. Box 866 Bristol, IN 46507 Phone: (574) 848-7600 FAX: (574) 622-0037 Computer Address: jake2737@gmail.com 15