An off-duty Hobart police officer has been charged after a disturbance involving multiple people in the 1300 block of Jackson Street. ABC7 Chicago reported[1] the charges on Saturday, October 10, 2026. It is the only outlet whose report was reviewed for this post, and the investigation is ongoing.
What was reported
According to ABC7, the incident happened on August 14 and involved multiple people. The report gives the date without a year, so the year and day of the week are not stated here. ABC7 reported that the Lake County Sheriff's Department investigated.
Hobart Police Chief Garrett Ciszewski announced that Cpl. Mike Gallagher faces a Level 5 felony charge of battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor charge of battery resulting in bodily injury and a Class C misdemeanor OWI charge, according to ABC7. Gallagher was moved from paid to unpaid administrative leave. Whether he has been arrested was not reported.
ABC7 did not identify the injured person, describe the injury or explain how a vehicle was involved. The charges are accusations, and Gallagher is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
What an injured person should do next
If you were hurt in an assault or by an impaired driver, get appropriate medical care and keep every record, including records from follow-up visits. You should also ask the investigating agency, here the Lake County Sheriff's Department, for the case number and instructions for requesting the report. Indiana crash reports and related records can matter, but a police report does not determine civil liability. This guide explains more about obtaining an Indiana police report.
Write down what you remember and the names of any witnesses while the details are fresh. Timely documentation can help preserve evidence, and witness statements may help establish what happened.
A criminal case and a civil claim are separate. A civil claim can move forward on its own schedule, and its deadlines keep running while charges are pending.
Why the Hobart location matters
The reported incident happened in the 1300 block of Jackson Street in Hobart, Lake County. A civil case would ordinarily be filed in Lake County or where a defendant lives.
When a claim could involve a city or another government employer, Indiana's Tort Claims Act requires written notice to a political subdivision within 180 days under Ind. Code 34-13-3-8. ABC7 reported that Gallagher was off duty, and nothing reported so far ties the City of Hobart to the incident. You can read more about Indiana government tort claim notices.
The general two-year deadline for injury claims appears in Ind. Code 34-11-2-4. Indiana's modified comparative fault rule, Ind. Code 34-51-2-6, governs how responsibility is divided when more than one person is involved. Under that rule, an injured person whose fault is greater than 50 percent recovers nothing; otherwise, any recovery is reduced by that person's percentage of fault. These rules can be hotly contested when accounts differ.
How Delventhal Law Office can help
Delventhal Law Office, LLC is a personal injury law firm in Fort Wayne, Indiana, founded by attorney Chad E. Delventhal in 2009. The firm helps people across Indiana who are hurt because of someone else's wrongful conduct or carelessness. Chad Delventhal can explain how an injury claim may relate to a criminal case, review the deadlines that may apply and help you prepare for an insurer that may aggressively defend the claim.
No outcome can be promised in any case. If you want to discuss your circumstances, you can request a free case evaluation or review the firm's personal injury services.
This post is based on public reporting, the investigation may be ongoing, and nothing here is legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship.
