On April 17, 1993, Officers Michael Lardy and his partner Officer Marvin Schumer of the 4th Precinct encountered Charles Lone Eagle and John Boney, Native Americans who were apparently intoxicated and sleeping in front of an apartment building. According to the plaintiffs' civil complaint, the officers called for an ambulance and then canceled their request and dragged the men to the squad car. The men were then allegedly handcuffed and thrown in the trunk of the squad car; the trunk was closed on Lone Eagle's leg, injuring it. The two men in the trunk claimed that the ride to the hospital, which was only three blocks from where the men were picked up, took an unreasonably long time, and that the car's driver drove erratically, causing injuries. The officers later claimed that they used the squad car because they were worried about the well-being of the men and wanted to get to the hospital quickly, yet the dangerous and menacing confinement in the vehicle's trunk undermines this claim.