Dachena Warren-Hil was a 20-year-old black woman who was shot and killed by a Fort Wayne, Indiana, police officer while she was trying to escape her abusive partner. And now her family is suing the police. On November 19, 2023, the police were responding to a domestic disturbance call.
According to the court documents, Officer Mark Guzman responded to the call. When he reached the site, Hill was trying to get away from her abuser, Cedric Brown.
Guzman reportedly opened fire at her, killing her on the spot. In his interview, Guzman initially claimed that he was worried for his safety as he believed that Hill was going to run him over. However, later on, when his body cam was checked, it clearly showed that Dachena was driving away from him, not towards him.
Now Dachena’s family has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that she was wrongfully killed.
Dachena’s mother, Danisha Warren, files the suit, and it names Guzman, former Fort Wayne Police Chief Steve Reed, and Brown as defendants.
The lawsuit alleged that the officer used reckless and unnecessary force. The lawsuit also accuses the city of failing to train the officers properly and Brown of initially responding to domestic violence that eventually led to Dachena’s death.
Attorney D. Eric Neff is representing the family, and he has stated that Dachena posed no immediate threat to the officer responding. There was no need to use fatal measures in the scenario.
“She was a victim trying to survive and she was met with a bullet,” Neff said.
Prosecutors have referred a 911 caller who allegedly saw a car driving towards the officer. Police statements have corroborated the call. However, the family’s legal team states that the caller had mistakenly described the driver as a man. This might have led to the confusion.
But it was the difference between the official narrative and the evidence shown in the body-cam that has fueled the demands for transparency in the case.
The protest continues in downtown Fort Wayne after a police officer killed 22-year-old Linzell Parhm over the weekend.
The protest also is seeking Justice for 20-year-old Dachena Warren-Hill who was shot and killed by a Fort Wayne Police Department officer in November. pic.twitter.com/NqPVlBsZyg
— Ethan Dahlen (@ethanjdahlen) June 27, 2024
Danisha Warren has openly ridiculed the department’s approach.
“It’s like they’re trained to kill, not protect,” she told reporters. She also added that her daughter’s death was preventable and all she needed was help to get away from the man who was hurting her. She argued that the very people who were supposed to help her, protect her, ended up killing her.
The family’s lawsuit highlights the systemic issues in policing. It particularly brings out the treatment of black women in crisis by the authorities.
Advocates argued that law enforcement officers are not being trained well. They are unable to differentiate between abusers and the abused. They don’t see victims of domestic violence as people in need of protection. Police tend to wash it off as a typical spat that then leads to unnecessary confrontation.
Watch the body cam footage of Fort Wayne police murdering 20 y/o preschool teacher Dachena Warren-Hill and calling it necessary force. https://t.co/yNT7RMm2qk
— Jamarcus JT Turner (@MrMarcus260) February 27, 2024
The case has prompted debate on how police officers need to handle the cases of domestic violence and how there needs to be specialized training in de-escalation and victim safety, especially in cases involving survivors attempting to flee.
In this case, the release of the complete body-camera footage will likely be central to determining whether Guzman’s actions were justified. The family says they hope not only for justice for Dachena but also for reforms to ensure no other domestic violence victim meets the same fate.
