From left to right: Muncie police officers Jeremy Gibson, Dalton Kurtz, Corey Posey, and Joseph Kresja. Not pictured: Chase Winkle

The Muncie Police Department is grappling with a serious legal situation as three officers and a sergeant now confront additional charges related to excessive force and obstruction. The announcement was made by acting U.S. Attorney John Childress on Wednesday after a grand jury returned a 17-count superseding indictment against the officers.

The indicted officers include Chase Winkle (previously reported), Jeremy Gibson, Dalton Kurtz, and Corey Posey, along with Sergeant Joseph Kresja. The charges in the superseding indictment are as follows: Winkle faces 11 felonies, Gibson three felonies, Kresja two felonies, and Posey one felony.

According to the indictment, Winkle stands accused of five counts of deprivation of rights connected to excessive force and six counts of writing false reports. These charges stem from allegations that Winkle employed excessive force against individuals he arrested, utilizing tactics such as kicking, punching, knee striking, and deploying a taser without any justification. As a result of these actions, the arrestees suffered bodily injuries.

Gibson, on the other hand, faces two counts of deprivation of rights related to excessive force and one count of writing a false report concerning an arrest he made. The indictment claims that Gibson physically assaulted those he arrested, resorting to punching, stomping, and striking their knees without any valid reason, leading to injuries.

Sergeant Kresja’s charges center on two counts of writing false reports pertaining to Winkle’s alleged excessive force incidents. According to court documents, on one occasion, Kresja downplayed the level of force used by Winkle during an arrest. On another occasion, he falsely represented that a different sergeant from the Muncie Police Department had cleared Winkle of using excessive force when, in reality, it was Kresja himself who conducted the review.

A signed plea agreement by Officer Kurtz resulted in six months in federal prison, two months home detention, and 1 year of supervised release and a $1,000 fine, for filing false reports related to an incident in which Kurtz witnessed Winkle using excessive for during the arrest of a minor.

Officer Posey is facing one count of writing a false report about one of Winkle’s alleged instances of excessive force. The indictment states that Posey’s report misrepresented the behavior of the arrestee, omitting and mischaracterizing Winkle’s unlawful use of force during the incident.

In a prior 12-count indictment, Winkle, Gibson, and Kresja had already been charged with civil rights and obstruction offenses related to five of the six incidents outlined in the superseding indictment. However, the new indictment introduces excessive force and false report charges against Winkle and Gibson, pertaining to a sixth incident.

Additionally, two previously unmentioned cases were introduced in the superseding indictment. In one of these cases, Posey is charged with allegedly falsifying a report, failing to mention that Winkle had struck a person’s head and neck area, resulting in serious injuries. The indictment contends that Winkle’s use of force was excessive and unnecessary, even rising to the level of deadly force.

The situation becomes more complex as the legal proceedings unfold, and the accused officers and sergeant will face the full weight of the law. If convicted on the deprivation of rights charges, they could each face up to 10 years in prison, while the false report charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars. The gravity of these charges underscores the importance of a thorough investigation and a fair trial to ensure justice is served.

This story has been extensively covered on the WRTV Indianapolis website by authors Daniel Bradley and Kara Kenney, and the Muncie Star Press by Douglas Walker. Portions of this article were generated using artificial intelligence.

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