ALL RIGHTS AND CREDIT FOR THIS INCREDIBLE EXPOSÉ DUE TO ABC57 NEWS

Excerpt of original article below. Full write up found here
https://www.abc57.com/news/the-elkhart-police-saga-the-wolverines


When Keith Cooper accepted a settlement from the City of Elkhart for his wrongful conviction in a 1996 armed robbery and attempted murder, it was the largest wrongful conviction settlement in Indiana history according to the University of Michigan Law School’s National Registry of Exonerations. 

It cost taxpayers $7.5 million.

The cost for Cooper?

More than seven years in prison, more than seven years away from his family, and more than seven years living as a wrongfully-convicted man.

Now Cooper’s attorneys believe he, and others, were targets of a rogue group of cops inside the Elkhart Police Department known as The Wolverines. Alleged members of the group have been directly connected to at least two known wrongful convictions.

Cooper’s attorneys believe the actions of The Wolverines now coming to light, may soon make Elkhart, per capita, the exoneration capital of the U.S.

“Members of The Wolverines have been implicated in violating the constitutional rights of citizens in the Elkhart community, and predominantly citizens of color,” Cooper’s attorney Elliot Slosar said.

Slosar, who’s part of the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic, has investigated wrongful conviction cases in Elkhart for nearly 15 years. In an ongoing legal fight to overturn the murder conviction of Iris Seabolt, Slosar questioned former Elkhart Police Chief James J Ivory during a sworn deposition.

In that deposition, Ivory provides the first known account of a former or current Elkhart city official publicly admitting to the existence of The Wolverines. Court filings in the Seabolt case describe The Wolverines as a “white supremacist group” targeting people of color in South central Elkhart in the 90’s.

“Some of the [Wolverines] used the ‘n-word’ when they didn’t know I was around,” Ivory, Elkhart’s first ever Black Chief of Police said. “Of course when I rounded the corner, the conversation ceased”

Keith Cooper was put in jail by Steve Rezutko. According to filings in the Seabolt case, at least one former Elkhart police officer has identified Rezutko as a Wolverine.

Cooper was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a 1996 robbery where a teenager was shot. Cooper’s attorneys accused Rezutko of manipulating witnesses with suggestive lineups, withholding evidence which could have kept Cooper out of prison, and deliberately creating false evidence and witness statements.

Rezutko later resigned from the Elkhart Police Department following an internal investigation finding Rezutko had paid informants for sexual acts. He died by suicide shortly after learning about the Cooper case being re-opened.

“Nobody was like, hey, let's go look into those cases [involving Rezutko] and see if the people who are still in prison every day should really have a shot of justice,” Slosar said.

Keith cooper spent more than seven years in prison before new DNA evidence and eyewitness testimony from the victim saying he didn’t commit the crime lead to his release.

Then, last month, the City of Elkhart paid an historic $7.5 million settlement. The largest wrongful conviction settlement in Indiana history according to the University of Michigan Law School Exoneration Registry.

The second suspect in the Cooper case, Chris Parish, saw his attempted murder and robbery conviction overturned because of DNA evidence and new testimony, leading to a $4.9 million payout. Before the settlement, a jury had found Rezutko deprived Parish of his constitutional right to a fair trial.

At least nine former Elkhart police officers have been implicated as Wolverines, in recent court filings.

“The question shouldn't just be, who was a part of it and what did they do,” Slosar said. “Another question should be who knew about it and why didn't they stop it.”

During his deposition, former Elkhart Police Chief JJ Ivory identified three men he knew as Wolverines.

Bruce Davidson, a former president of the Elkhart Fraternal Order of Police, who went on to rob 24 banks through 11 states after his law enforcement career, earning Davidson a spot on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. 

Steve Ambrose, an officer involved in the 1995 killing of Derrick Conner, which lead to city-wide protests.


“They would all stick together regardless of whatever the issue would be,” Ivory said. “It made me feel they would lie, cheat, defraud to uphold their cause.”

When Ivory took over as chief in 1990, he had a mission to change the culture inside the Elkhart Police

“Do we want to keep digging things up? Or do we want to acknowledge that maybe mistakes were made and procedures were not in place to effectively do things?"
So what is being done today for people in prison now, put there by members of The Wolverines or other officers connected to known wrongful convictions?

Nothing.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv3PoLPwCcs