Maeling Smith v. State of Indiana

── Maeling Smith v. State of Indiana ── Case No.: 25A-CR-01994 Court: Indiana Court of Appeals Date: December 18, 2025 Author: Judge Mary DeBoer County of Origin: Vanderburgh Category: Criminal Decision: Affirmed Judge Bradford and Judge Weissmann concur In May 2021, an Evansville Police Department officer was in his police cruiser when a man approached him and told him he had been in an altercation with his girlfriend. At that point, the officer heard a car approach and a female, later identified as Smith, got out of the vehicle and started screaming. In an attempt to deescalate the situation, the officer repeatedly told Smith to get back in her car, but Smith refused. When the officer attempted to place Smith in custody, she avoided him by getting back into her car and closing the door.