Holly V. Hays

holly.hays@indystar.com

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Monday that a wounded Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer cannot sue an area sporting goods shop for damages stemming from an injury involving a weapon it sold.

In an opinion filed Monday afternoon, the court dismissed Dwayne Runnels' 2013 lawsuit claiming damages against KS&E Sports, an Indianapolis-based sporting goods store, and the store's owner, Edward J. Ellis. Runnels alleged the store sold a handgun to an individual who resold it to another man who used it to injure him months later. He also claimed the shop was a public nuisance.

Gun shops are provided widespread immunity under a section of the Indiana Code that states a person cannot bring a suit against a gun or ammunition manufacturer, trade association or seller for damages resulting from criminal use of the gun by a third party.

More from IndyStar:

Wounded Indianapolis officer confronts law protecting gun sellers

A man said to have the mind of a 12-year-old confessed to a bizarre murder. But now, he says he's innocent

In its opinion, the court dismisses Runnels' damage claims using that statute, but upheld his claim of public nuisance. In Indiana, plaintiffs may request an action to abate or enjoin a public nuisance if their property is negatively affected or the nuisance affects their enjoyment of life or property.

In this case, Runnels requested an order enjoining or abating the nuisance until the store modifies its sales, training and marketing policies and retrains employees "to reasonably and adequately minimize the risk that criminal(s), juveniles and other prohibited and/or dangerous persons will obtain firearms from KS&E."

Demetrious Martin, a convicted felon, could not legally buy the handgun for himself, Runnels' suit alleged, so they conducted a "straw deal." Martin allegedly visited the store with Tarus Blackburn, also named in the suit, in October 2011 and picked out the .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun together, but left the store without making a purchase, according to court documents.

Hours later, Blackburn returned to the store and bought the gun for $325, which he allegedly sold to Martin in the store's parking lot for $375.

In December 2011, Martin used that gun to shoot and wound Runnels during a traffic stop, according to court documents. Runnels, who was hit in the hip, was able to fire back at Martin, killing him.

Attorneys for the store argued the case should be thrown out of Marion Superior Court in 2014, citing the immunity statute as proof the store wasn't responsible for Martin's actions. The judge ruled in Runnels' favor, allowing the case to proceed. In March 2016, the Indiana Court of Appeals also ruled the store was not immune from a lawsuit, allowing Runnels to continue to try to prove his case. In August, it moved to the Indiana Supreme Court.

The Indiana Supreme Court also disagreed with Runnels' claims that the law, which he says protects gun sellers but not the victims of these crimes, is unconstitutional, allowing for unequal privileges and violating due process.

Indiana Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Slaughter wrote in his opinion Monday that the court came to its conclusion by strictly interpreting the statute as written, albeit acknowledging that, more broadly, it could be interpreted as contrary to arguments from both sides.

On one hand, Slaughter wrote, it provides immunity to sellers, contrary to Runnels' claims, but also only provides limited immunity from cases involving damages sought, which would be contrary to KS&E's claims.

"The legislature's policies, so long as they are constitutional, are beyond our purview," Slaughter wrote. "We neither applaud the wisdom of such choices nor condemn their folly. We simply assess their legality."

IndyStar reporter Madeline Buckley contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.