Indianapolis
police chief quits amid crash blunder
Indianapolis'
police chief resigned and two other top officers were suspended Tuesday over
the latest blunder in the case of a fatal crash involving a police officer
authorities believe was drunk.
Indianapolis'
police chief resigned and two other top officers were suspended Tuesday over
the latest blunder in the case of a fatal crash involving a police officer
authorities believe was drunk.
The
city's mayor and public safety director also called in the FBI to help restore
public confidence in a police department they say has endured decades of
neglect and corruption.
The
developments came a day after prosecutors informed police Chief Paul Ciesielski
that a key second vial of blood from Officer David Bisard had been mishandled
and left unrefrigerated in a police property room annex. The revelation cast
doubt about whether authorities can show Bisard was legally drunk in August
2010 when he drove into a pair of motorcycles stopped at a traffic light,
killing one rider and injuring two others. Bisard is awaiting trial on reckless
homicide and other charges.
"At
best, this matter shows gross incompetence, at worst possible criminal
intent," said Mayor Greg Ballard, who declined to elaborate.
Ciesielski
was not at Tuesday's news conference and did not immediately return a message
left with a department spokesman. He will remain with the department as a
captain.
Public
Safety Director Frank Straub placed Deputy Chief Valerie Cunningham, Lt. Paula
Irwin and a civilian property room supervisor on paid leave. Deputy Public
Safety Director Rick Hite, a 32-year veteran of the Baltimore Police
Department, was sworn in as acting police chief.
Allegations
of a cover-up in Bisard's case started shortly after the crash, when
prosecutors announced a blood test showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19
more than two hours after his squad car plowed into the motorcycles, killing
30-year-old Eric Wells and injuring two others. Many were incredulous that
neither police at the scene nor the medical personnel who drew the blood and
evaluated Bisard for injuries realized he was drunk. An internal police
investigation found Bisard was driving 73 mph in a 40 mph zone and using a
laptop computer for messages not related to police business.
Marion
County Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins last year found the first blood test
was improperly administered by someone not legally certified to take the
sample. Last week, Hawkins gave prosecutors permission to test a second blood
sample. But prosecutor Terry Curry said his office subsequently discovered the
vial was moved from the main police property room to the annex in November.
Indiana
University law professor Fran Watson said the lack of refrigeration could allow
defense attorneys to question its validity.
Straub
was brought in by Ballard more than two years ago to reform the police
department, but Bill Owensby, president of the Indianapolis chapter of the
Fraternal Order of Police, said he also should go.
"I
don't know how you can run an investigation when it's going well, then hand it
off when it's not going well," Owensby said.
Straub
rejected such suggestions, saying problems with the department dating back half
a century could not be fixed in a couple of years. He also said property room
procedures have not been updated since 1980.
"This
is 30 or 40 or 50 years of neglect and what I've heard from the management of
the police department over and over and over again during the two years and
four months that I've been here is that, `We knew this was going on, we just
never bothered to fix it. We knew officers were drinking on duty. We knew that
officers were going to strip clubs, but we didn't take action. We didn't hold
ourselves or those officers accountable.'"
Attorney
Linda Pence, who represents Wells' parents in a federal lawsuit against Bisard
and the city, said the latest development confirmed her "worst
presumptions."
"I'd
like to say that I'm surprised, but I believe that the conduct in this case
from day one was inappropriate and this confirms that it is a very deep issue
within the department," Pence said.
Bisard's
attorney was out of town Tuesday and didn't immediately return a call seeking
comment.
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