U.S. Briefs: Indiana officers indicted for shooting motorist

Indiana

On Sept. 29, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office indicted two Indianapolis police officers on seven felony charges after they shot and wounded a man asleep in a car parked in his grandmother’s driveway. The grandmother had called police when she didn’t recognize the vehicle. Video footage shows officers waking 24-year-old Anthony Maclin in the early hours of Dec. 31 by tapping on his car window. They repeatedly shouted, “Police! Hands up!” then fired more than 30 rounds into the car. Three bullets struck Maclin, who had a gun on his lap. He had a license to carry the weapon but says he never pointed it at officers. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said officers had no “clear view of the position of the gun” after Maclin woke up. He has had six surgeries and racked up nearly $1 million in medical bills. He has filed a tort claim alleging officers used excessive force and caused emotional distress. The officers face up to 16 years in prison and $10,000 in fines when they go to trial on Dec. 18. —Sharon Dierberger

Illinois

The state Department of Agriculture recently confirmed the sighting of an adult spotted lanternfly. The invasive pest, native to Asia, was previously confirmed to have spread to several Eastern U.S. states, as well as Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Spotted lanternflies suck the sap from plants, leaving behind a sugary honeydew substance that attracts other insects to feed, causing a gunky mold that can kill plants. The state is encouraging people to squish adult insects on sight. Disposing of the egg masses is harder, though: They must be scraped into a container of rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. Officials haven’t seen enough lanternflies in Illinois to cause “widespread plant and tree death,” but they could hurt the agritourism industry. —Elizabeth Russell

Pennsylvania

Car thieves targeted a new dealership in Philadelphia on Sept. 27, stealing seven of the 11 cars on its lot less than a week after it opened. The same night, a mob of looters ransacked several other Philly retail outlets, smashing windows and taking merchandise from Foot Locker, Lululemon, and the Apple Store. The vandals also targeted a liquor store. Police say the looting started at the suggestion of a social media influencer. She was among 52 people arrested after the incidents. The car thieves, who are still at large, broke into the office at City Motors to steal the cars’ keys and titles. The dealership’s owner said he didn’t have security cameras yet because the business had just opened. Within a few days, police recovered three of the vehicles. —Leigh Jones

North Carolina

A classical music radio station in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area will not air six modern productions from New York’s Metropolitan Opera this season. In a letter that gained internet attention in late September, WCPE’s general manager told the station’s 10,000 supporters that the operas, five of which are in English, include vulgar language and violence. One depicts Mary in mental agony when visited by the angel Gabriel. The listener-supported station features music from the 1600s to mid-1800s and has included Met ­productions for 35 years. The station also nixed one of the Met’s non-­classical-style operas last year, citing vulgar language. The station manager told NPR content warnings are insufficient. WCPE said it asked listeners to provide feedback before making the decision and said about 90 percent of 1,000 respondents approved of the plan. Listeners of the station can still hear 16 Met productions in the upcoming season, including Romeo et Juliette and Madama Butterfly. Critics of the cancellations say those operas contain similarly adult themes. —Todd Vician

Massachusetts

A 95-year-old painter and his family will get five more years to live in their Cape Cod dune shack after federal officials gave them an eviction reprieve. Salvatore Del Deo (at left below) and his family have occupied and maintained the Provincetown shack for nearly eight decades. It is one of a number along an isolated stretch of the Cape Cod National Seashore. The shacks lack electricity and indoor plumbing and are known for their haphazard construction. Those who lease them prize their uninterrupted solitude. The Del Deo family learned of its eviction last summer when the National Park Service initiated a bidding process for new leases. Romolo Del Deo, Salvatore’s son, said the family decided to fight the eviction because his father spent the last 77 years painting at the location: “His connection to the place is very, very deep.” —Mary Jackson

Michigan

Beginning Jan. 1, attorneys and judges in the state must address everyone in court by preferred pronouns. The new rule issued by the Michigan Supreme Court on Sept. 27 is the first of its kind in the country. It includes an opt-out provision for those who have religious or other objections to using pronouns that don’t match a person’s sex. It allows attorneys and judges to use a person’s name without title or pronouns, or “other respectful means that are not inconsistent with the individual’s designated salutation or personal pronouns.” The court split 5-2 on the rule, with two judges in the majority writing to tout the rule’s welcoming and inclusive nature and ­dismissing constitutional ­concerns. But in a dissenting opinion, Justice Brian Zahra called it “a directive that will undoubtedly inflame conflict and exacerbate the social ­division of the people of Michigan”—pointing to the division in the hundreds of comments on the proposed rule. —Steve West

This brief has been updated to correct the spelling of Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra’s name.