Parris Jordan v. Allen County, Police Department

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION PARRIS JORDAN, Plaintiff, v. CAUSE NO. 1:25-CV-516-CCB-SJF ALLEN COUNTY, POLICE DEPARTMENT, Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER Parris Jordan, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a complaint. ECF 1. “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quotation marks and citations omitted). Nevertheless, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court must review the merits of a prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.

Jordan alleges that, in July 2025, he was arrested without probable cause because he allegedly matched the description of a suspect in a robbery. ECF 1 at 2. He has named two defendants: Allen County and the Police Department. Jordan cannot proceed against either of these defendants. Allen County and the Police Department can only be held liable if the plaintiff’s constitutional rights were violated due to their policies, practices, or customs, and the complaint does not allege that any policy, practice, or custom of Allen County or the police department caused Jordan’s constitutional rights to be violated. See Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978).

This amended complaint does not state a claim for which relief can be granted. If Jordan believes he can state a claim based on (and consistent with) the events described in this complaint, he may file an amended complaint because “[t]he usual standard in civil cases is to allow defective pleadings to be corrected, especially in early stages, at least where amendment would not be futile.” Abu-Shawish v. United States, 898 F.3d 726, 738 (7th Cir. 2018). To file an amended complaint, he needs to write this cause number on a Pro Se 14 (INND Rev. 2/20) Prisoner Complaint form which is available from his law library. He needs to write the word “Amended” on the first page above the title “Prisoner Complaint” and send it to the court after he properly completes the form.

For these reasons, the court: (1) GRANTS Parris Jordan until February 16, 2026, to file an amended complaint; and (2) CAUTIONS Parris Jordan if he does not respond by the deadline, this case will be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A without further notice because the current complaint does not state a claim for which relief can be granted.

SO ORDERED on January 12, 2026. /s/Cristal C. Brisco CRISTAL C. BRISCO, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT