LaPorte Official Denies Fleeing Police, Refuses Resignation

An official for the city of LaPorte received three traffic tickets early Thursday morning but denies allegations that he tried to flee from police.

Tim Stabosz, a 44-year-old former LaPorte City Council member and current secretary of the LaPorte Historic Preservation Commission, has been asked to resign from his position by Mayor Blair Milo, but said he has no plans to do so and is looking to rally support for what he calls a story that has gotten out of hand.

A police officer attempted to stop Stabosz early Thursday morning because of a seatbelt violation, but Stabosz reportedly saw the police officer prepare to stop him, and because of a recently history of seatbelt and ticket violations, he decided to change his route to avoid the fine.

However, police say Stabosz sped up and turned down two streets before turning east onto Lincolnway, where he fishtailed in his vehicle. Stabosz claims he traveled only a short distance on Lincolnway before the officer activated his lights and sirens. He said he then immediately pulled over.

However, Tom Heath, captain of the LaPorte Police Department, said Stabosz was obviously trying to evade police, but he didn’t actually try to flee.

Stabosz was ultimately ticketed for a seat-belt violation, speeding and failure to use a turn signal.