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The call was not immediately returned. What do the police have something to hide ?

TERRE HAUTE — The family of a Brazil man who died last year after being arrested has filed a wrongful death claim in federal court, accusing six police agencies of using excessive force, resulting in the man’s death.

The family is seeking more than $5 million in compensation.

Bradley E. Karn, 25, of Brazil died at Putnam County Hospital on Feb. 24, 2006, after he stopped breathing while being arrested following a traffic stop and a police chase.

In the complaint, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, representatives of Karn’s estate accused officers of spraying Karn with pepper spray, beating him and holding him face-down on an incline for several minutes, “even though he did not pose a threat of physical harm to the officers surrounding him.”

A pathology report indicated Karn died from excited delirium syndrome, according to authorities. Pathology reports also showed Karn was morbidly obese and tested positive for methamphetamine, marijuana and alcohol. The reports indicated Karn experienced positional asphyxiation, which means the body is positioned in such a way that it interferes with the ability to breathe.

Indiana State Police, an agency that assisted in the pursuit and arrest of Karn, conducted the initial investigation into Karn’s death.

An independent investigation, known as a coroner’s inquest, was launched by Putnam County Coroner Thomas Miller.

According to police, the pursuit began when Karn fled from a Clay County Sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop. Karn led policed through Brazil and onto Interstate 70.

Police used stop sticks to deflate the tires on Karn’s vehicle, and continued to follow him as the chase became a slow-speed pursuit. According to a news release from Indiana State Police at the time, Clay County Sheriff Mike Heaton then bumped Karn’s vehicle in a “slow-speed legal intervention,” causing the car to spin and come to a stop.

Police vehicles then surrounded Karn’s car, and police demanded he exit the vehicle. Karn refused, at which point police began to break his windows, sprayed him with a chemical agent and forcibly removed him, according to police.

The initial news release from police also stated Karn continued to struggle as he was handcuffed, at which point he collapsed and stopped breathing.

Miller said while Karn was handcuffed, he was lying on his stomach on a hill with his head pointing downward. Karn’s weight and gravity caused his stomach to push into his diaphragm and did not allow him to breath, Miller said.

Karn’s death was determined accidental at the inquest. Coroner Miller said at the time, “There was absolutely no foul play of any police officer.”

The Karn family, however, disagrees.

According to a news release issued by Indianapolis attorneys for the Karn family, Karn “was a polite young man who battled schizophrenia and lived at home with his parents … the officers were actually aware of his mental illness when the confrontation occurred.”

Stephen M. Wagner, attorney for Karn’s family, said in a telephone interview Monday that this is not a case of an out-of-control individual posing a threat to police.

“You have a mental-health patient, disabled, by the side of the road, frightened, with both hands on the wheel, and police are knowledgeable about his health condition, not an individual with any weapons, not posing any threat — why do you smash in his windshield, punch him, spray him … then pull him out and suffocate him?

“You’ve got 17 big, burly officers around a mental-health patient … some of them had actually escorted [Karn] home, and they knew sometimes he wouldn’t take his medication.”

Wagner added that during the vehicle pursuit, police radio transmissions informed officers that Karn had a mental illness.

Wagner said the family will rely on testimony taken during the coroner’s inquest. According to the Karn family news release, police officers testified during the inquest that an officer had placed his knee in the back of Karn’s neck during the arrest, refusing to remove handcuffs to allow for emergency medical treatment.

The initial release from the Indiana State Police last year contradicts that allegation, stating that police immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Karn and continued until paramedics arrived.

A phone message seeking comment was left with Indiana State Police Sgt. Joe Watts, one of the individuals named in the complaint. The call was not immediately returned.