The Indiana Supreme Court issued an opinion in Bryce A. Burton v. Martin Benner and Indiana State Police (Case No. 19S-CT-549) finding in favor of the off-duty state police officer.
 
Here, the plaintiff, Bryce Burton, attempted to sue Indiana State Trooper Martin Benner in his personal capacity after the two were involved in an accident in rural Benton County. At the time of the accident, Trooper Benner was off duty but was operating his state-issued police commission as allowed under State Police policy. Arguing he was acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident, Benner sought summary judgment on whether he could be held personally liable for any damages that flowed from the incident. Despite the fact that Trooper Benner was off duty and not in strict compliance with State Police policy at the time of the accident, the Indiana Supreme Court found that this was not enough to place him “clearly outside” the scope of his employment. Thus, the Court granted summary judgment in favor of the officer and dismissed the case.
 
You can read the Indiana Supreme Court opinion in the embedded PDF below: