Kristine Phillips

2 weeks ago | indystar.com | Tim Evans |Kristine Phillips

"Lawless," a new IndyStar investigation by reporter Kristine Phillips and visual journalist Mykal McEldowney, pulled back the curtain on decades-old police misconduct in Elkhart and the lingering impact on the department and the city's Black community. Here are seven things you need to know about the investigation. Who are the Wolverines? Wolverines was a nickname taken by a group of young, aggressive, White police officers who worked in Elkhart in the 1980s and 1990s.

2 weeks ago | courierpress.com | Kristine Phillips

A band of young, aggressive, white Elkhart cops who called themselves the Wolverines often targeted Black people for abuse and false arrests, an IndyStar investigation found. ELKHART, Ind. — There was blood everywhere. Smeared all over the floor and on the head, arms and legs of the skinny Black man who was just arrested. The gruesome scene was the aftermath of a beating Carolyn Jenks said she witnessed inside the Elkhart Police Department's detention center.

2 weeks ago | southbendtribune.com | Kristine Phillips

A band of young, aggressive, white Elkhart cops who called themselves the Wolverines often targeted Black people for abuse and false arrests, an IndyStar investigation found. ELKHART, Ind. — There was blood everywhere. Smeared all over the floor and on the head, arms and legs of the skinny Black man who was just arrested. The gruesome scene was the aftermath of a beating Carolyn Jenks said she witnessed inside the Elkhart Police Department's detention center.

2 weeks ago | indystar.com | Kristine Phillips

ELKHART, Ind. — There was blood everywhere. Smeared all over the floor and on the head, arms and legs of the skinny Black man who was just arrested. The gruesome scene was the aftermath of a beating Carolyn Jenks said she witnessed inside the Elkhart Police Department's detention center. There was so much blood she wasn't sure where exactly the young man was injured. The rookie officer was certain, however, of one thing: Demetrius Pegues did not fight back as multiple officers beat him.

2 weeks ago | southbendtribune.com | Kristine Phillips

ELKHART, Ind. — On the streets of this northern Indiana city, a rogue band of cops who patrolled Black neighborhoods was known by different nicknames. Some regarded the officers — young, aggressive and White — as the "future of the department," a former Elkhart police captain said. Another described them as a "gang in blue" that operated like "special ops."Inside the police department, they were known as the Wolverines.