EAST CHICAGO | Betty Crenshaw walked into her local bank Feb. 6, 2004, wanting to make a deposit and left the premises minutes later in handcuffs and with a leg injury.

That much is clear. Just about everything else about the scuffle that led to her arrest and its aftermath is in dispute in a Hammond federal court lawsuit, including whether anyone invoked the name of Crenshaw's brother -- Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter -- to try to get charges against her dropped.

Crenshaw sued the arresting East Chicago officer, Jose Rivera, along with three other cops, the city and the bank in federal court alleging false arrest and battery. This week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry ruled the lawsuit can only continue against Rivera and two other police officers. The case has a November trial date.

On Friday, Carter reacted angrily to the suggestion that Crenshaw's husband, Raymond, who also was arrested at the scene the same day, invoked the name of the prosecutor to police in an attempt to get the charges thrown out.

"I don't care what family member uses my name," Carter said. "It will not be used in my office to determine whether we will bring charges or not. I don't believe he said it. ... He told me specifically that at no time did he utter my name to that officer in that context."

Carter's office forwarded the charges to an special prosecutor, Robert Guy, of White County, who dismissed all charges because of insufficient evidence.

City attorney Wanda Jones could not be reached for comment Friday, but Judge Cherry's June 23 federal court opinion summarizes Rivera's written comments about Raymond Crenshaw's statement:

"Officer Rivera's arrest report relates that Raymond said that he would have any charges brought against he and Betty dropped because Betty's brother is Bernard Carter, the Lake County Prosecutor," Cherry wrote.

J. Michael Katz, attorney for the Crenshaws, said his clients deny what Rivera wrote in his police report.

"There are genuine issues of material fact (for the jury to decide), and who said what is one," Katz said. "I would absolutely deny that (Carter's name) was invoked in that matter."

On the day of the incident, employees of the Citizen's Financial Bank said Betty Crenshaw became irate and verbally abusive after she was informed she would have to pay a fee to determine her ATM PIN number, court records state.

Rivera, who is an East Chicago police officer, was working security at the bank and arrested her on a charge of disorderly conduct. In the process of arresting her, he forced her to sit on a bench, which she says injured her "bad leg" to the point of hospitalization.

Raymond Crenshaw was outside during the scuffle but also was arrested after he confronted Rivera about his wife's arrest, court records state.