I am working on a post on the Marion County Sheriff's race, but I've got some interesting developments on the Bisard case that I'll share.
My reliable source has informed me has told me a few more interesting tidbits on the ongoing case regarding Officer Dave Bisard, the incident itself, and the post-incident handling of the case.
My source informed me that the Lawrence Police Department officer that monitored the blood draw was a close friend of Officer Bisard. He questions if that'd be an ethics problem, and if he informed Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers/brass of this possible conflict, or if they knew and let him monitor it anyway.
My source also told me that the Marion County Prosecutor's Office has learned that the results were written wrong in regards to the blood alcohol content of the blood sample from Bisard. As has been reported before, 0.19 was the BAC that was published. My source says that the BAC was actually 0.019. The source says that BAC level is a violation of departmental policy, but not a violation of law. As I previously reported, this same source told me that the blood work was done at the Marion County Crime Lab and not at the State Department of Toxicology (see here).
My source maintains that the charges that still stand all come from the IMPD investigation, and that the alcohol charges which were the result of the work of the Fatal Alcohol Crash Team which is run out of the Prosecutor's office, were the charges that were dropped.
My source also confirms the suspicion of the "public image" of Frank Straub being an issue within IMPD. The day before the Bisard crash was when IMPD overwhelmingly voted down the proposed contract in a six to one margin. My source says the contract was voted down because Straub let it be known that he runs IMPD, and that he told Fraternal Order of Police President Bill Owensby that there'd be changes within the department, but he wouldn't announce the changes until the FOP held their elections for leadership. Apparently, Owensby didn't agree, and the contract was voted down.
Pundit Abdul Hakim-Shabazz shared the departmental policy that my source refers to over at his blog.
I have previously commented upon the good work that Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi has done with this case. Now, I'm not so sure how much I believe in those words. I'm not sure if I should be surprised, really.
Friday, September 3, 2010
8 comments:
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I hope the FBI is thoroughly questioning Lawrence Officer Stan Stephens.
ReplyDeleteI think all of the recent and most vehement public criticism of Straub is obviously the FOP's method of diversion--an attempt to divert attention from the arguably questionable actions (and inaction) of Hicks,Stephens,and Conley.
ReplyDeleteIf the results of the BAC were not correct, and I believe they would have tested that no less than 2 times, why has this not been released to the public?
ReplyDeletePeople regularly move around the decimal point when talking about BAC. Someimes they even state '1.something' which would be possible only for a walking, talking corpse.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed that a wreck that serious wouldn't result in the state police being called immediately to handle the investigation. Doctors don't operate on their kin, the prosecutor's office brings in outside prosecutors whenever there's a perceived conflict of interest, Judge's recuse themselves when they have connections to a defendant.
The police should NOT be investigating themselves in a situation such as Bisard's.
Anon 3:55,
ReplyDeleteAccording to news accounts, I think the FBI is only helping with the internal investigation. But they're also the FBI, so maybe they could bring additional charges (though I have no idea what type of federal crime Bisard might be charged with).
Anon 4:08,
There are plenty of reasons why Straub should go, and many of them have nothing to do with the recent cases of alleged police abuse/misconduct. Straub is, in short, a micromanager of the department when he has no statutory authority to do so. I'd highly encourage you to head over to Advance Indiana and read the several excellent reports Gary Welsh has written on how bad IMPD's relation with DPS is right now.
Anon 4:29,
Only Brizzi and his office knows for certain, if my source is accurate. The cynic in me says it's because Brizzi wants to save face. But we'll never really know unless this comes up in the civil trials.
Finally, DI,
I completely agree. I've been saying that since the beginning. But at this point, the criminal investigation is pretty much wrapped up, as far as I can tell. There's no turning back now.
Well if his BAC was really 0.019 then that is a big deal as far as what has been portrayed in the media that he was drunk when he crashed. Hell Mouthwash has alcohol in it which could explain the .019 IF IN FACT that is what his BAC was.
ReplyDeleteHow come there haven't been any updates regarding this case? The most recent one I could find was mid-September. The public was really outraged initially and now it seems forgotten. As journalist and writers I would think that you would keep us informed as to the corruption that is very prevalent in IMPD. We have went through corruption with arguably the highest positioned prosecutor in the state, Carlos Brizzi, and now "mishandling of evidence" with officers close to Bisard, who should be facing eight years at the least in a penal facility. The prison system is currently flooded with people who technically broke the law, no injuries incurred. And when people do actually kill others, it seems to go unpunished.
ReplyDeleteAnon, your anger is misdirected. I covered further developments in the Bisard case just a day or two ago. See the tag for yourself:
ReplyDeletehttp://indystudent.blogspot.com/search/label/Officer%20Bisard
As for your "As journalist and writers" comment, I maintain this blog in my spare time. I have two jobs, and I'll be going back to school next semester. So excuse me if I'm not covering every issue to your precise standards. How about checking out one of those local news stations that have paid, full time reporters on staff?
Or you can send me a check. I also accept Pay-Pal and cash. E-mail me for more info.