Doctor Director Straub Caught Sprucing Up Homicide Rate

The inspiration for "Bart" to start the Bart Lies! website was that every year, near the end of the year, it seemed like the homicide rate would get manipulated and would be reported lower by a few homicides lower than the actual homicide rate. Usually, media figures or some politicians would reduce the numbers by taking out any police-action homicides or self-defense figures. In other words, they use the murder rate. Which is fine, as long as they report it as such, and it usually only reduces the number of homicides by 0-5.

I noted last year that Prosecutor Carl Brizzi identified the number as the "homicide" rate and used a number that matches the number found at Bart Lies!.

But Doctor Director Frank Straub, the director of the Department of Public Safety, threw quite a curve ball my way when Bart pointed out that he said there have only been 89 homicides committed in Indianapolis this year. That's right, 89. And yes, he said "homicide", not "violent homicide" or "criminal homicide" or "murder". You can listen to the audio here.

Now, even if you don't accept Bart's count of 106, maybe you'll accept The Indianapolis Star's count of 102.

I'm still scratching my head on how you arrive at that number.

Several months back, The Star published an article where certain public officials were hoping that they'd get another year of less-than-100 criminal homicides. They list the number of non-criminal homicides at 8.

If you take the 102 number, and subtract 8, we're down to 94. Take away the two police action shootings, we're down to 92. Even if you take Eric Wells, who died after an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer ran into his motorcycle with his K-9 police vehicle, off the list, it only brings the number down to 91.

So how did Doctor Director Straub arrive at this number?

I'd sure like to know.

Straub's nomination is up for a vote in the Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee in the City-County Council on Wednesday at 5:30pm.

Afternoon Suicide Downtown

I was having a late lunch at Jimmy John's at Meridian and Washington around 3pm when I noticed all the Jimmy John's employees started leaving. The first part of an IMPD squad was arriving due to reports of gun shots from the Dennison parking garage on South Meridian. Before the dozens of additional law enforcement and media swarmed onto the area, there was a clear line of sight from the corner I stood at and where the body of the murder victim was. I later learned that the victim fell from one of the parking garage floors and landed on the sidewalk, almost hitting a pedestrian.

I first started getting reports via Twitter and word-of-mouth that the shooter killed himself, but I could still see a law enforcement officer with a firearm pointed to the parking garage. I later saw a LEO run into the garage. It was only about 20 minutes later that a Fox 59 reporter confirmed that the shooter shot himself.

As for the number of shots, the firearm used by the shooter, and other details, they are all under investigation. Reports from Twitter and from people I talked to at the scene all revealed different details. Hopefully the evening news casts will have a more full picture.

UPDATE: WIBC has a pretty good summary of what happened, including confirmation of the use of two handguns by the shooter.

UPDATE II: Wish-TV is reporting that it is a suicide and that there was no homicide at the scene. The man fired random shots then jumped. Earlier in the week, someone else committed suicide in a very public manner as well.

What's interesting is that there is a body in Hendricks County that police say is connected to the suicide that happened in downtown Indianapolis today.

Did Officer Bisard Get Special Treatment?

When a criminal situation occurs, or something that looks like it could be a criminal act, law enforcement officers have the duty to fully investigate the crime scene and what took place there. That includes detaining those accused of committing the crime for questioning, witnesses for testimony, and so on.

Officer David Bisard was involved in an accident involving two motorcycles. One of the motorcyclists, Eric Wells, died. The other two motorcyclists, Kurt Weekly and Mary Mills, are in stable condition but have suffered severe injuries.

Bisard was not detained at the scene, and his BAC wasn't taken until two hours after the accident occurred, and he drew a 0.19, more than twice the legal limit. An initial report from WTHR a few hours after the incident quoted Officer Brian Dixon implying that it was the motorcyclists' fault for not getting out of the way:

"Witnesses say the motorcycles kind of just stood still, not sure of which way to go, and the officer struck the motorcycles in the rear while trying to avoid this," said Officer Brian Dixon.

The lane the motorcycles were in also had a car in front driven by Tim Griffith, according to The Indianapolis Star. It is entire unrealistic to expect four vehicles to move to the side of the road while stopped at a traffic light.

If you or I drove our car as Bisard is alleged to and got into an accident involving several vehicles, there is no doubt in my mind that any other person would've been hauled to jail to be detained for questioning for a few hours at the very least. It took until Wednesday for Bisard to get to that point, and he didn't even spend a full hour in jail. Additionally, normal citizens don't get the benefit of a spokesperson to play the blame game.

That being said, I am not a "police state" believer. I don't believe, as Griffith's lawyer seems to, that there was a conspiracy at hand to shift the blame, and any failure to administer field sobriety tests can be attributed to the lack of obvious signs of impairment. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi filed several charges in relation to this case, including operating a vehicle while under the influence causing death and reckless homicide. And The Indianapolis Star is reporting that his license may be suspended, which makes me feel a bit easier since he is out on bail. While there was some things that did happen in the early part of the investigation that, in my opinion, shouldn't have happened, the process seems to be working now.

On a final note, please keep Kurt Weekly, Mary Mills, Eric Wells, and their respective families, in your prayers.

UPDATE: While writing this, it turns out I'm not the only one who had questions about how this all worked out. The Indianapolis Star has an article with some quotes from some of the victims' families. Police union president Bill Owensby is raises the possibility that blood vials might have gotten mixed up. This article also explains that two hours for a BAC test is normal, so now I feel a bit better about the initial investigation.

Overall, I believe that law enforcement didn't intentionally give him special treatment. But the fact that he was an officer led them to handle this case less aggressively. Owensby's and Dixon's comments and defenses certainly don't help police relations in this city, and it has NOT been a good summer for IMPD as far as community relations go.

And anyone can see this coming from a mile away: The families of the injured and dead are going to sue. I hope the city is putting away money right now, because not only will a long, drawn out legal battle be a drain on city resources, but it'll further tarnish our city's image.

The low price of bail also concerns me. Wasn't the mother who's neglect led to her child's death set at $200,000 bail?

UPDATE II: I heard an interview of a DUI lawyer this afternoon on WIBC. He said that, as far as the media reports go, there are two possibilities of how someone can have 0.19 BAC and not be noticeably drunk. He said that if someone drinks alcohol the night before and sleeps, their body will still register a BAC the next day for some time.

The other possibility is that, at some point after the accident, the officer left the scene, got wasted, and went to the hospital where he got his blood drawn.

Either situation seems very unusual and, until the investigation and trial reveals more information, seems to raise more questions than answers.

Homicide Rate: What's the real number?

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz tweeted that the murder rate is at 88. Bart Lies, one of the many websites created to throw out former Mayor Bart Peterson (and one of the few that is still up and running), has a different number.

Throughout the year, Bart Lies has kept track of each homicide that happens in this city. It has it at 92, with a full list of names for 2009 as well. He explains in this post that the homicide rate seems to get shortened by 4-5 each year. He says in the comments section that he doesn't specifically blame Mr. Shabazz, he just so happens to be the first to put the number out.

The reason these numbers are so important is because every single mayor says that public safety is #1. And this is something that average citizens can wrap their heads around. More importantly, it's something that politicians can't spin. The number is the number, no getting around that.

It's strange that even in the simple task of counting, two people can come up with different results.

Now would be a good time to remind readers (and myself) that homicide strictly refers to the act of one human taking the life of another. Homicide is not always illegal, and homicide and murder don't always go hand in hand. Justifiable homicide (self defense, for example) and a gang shooting a rival gang member (murder) both are different in the legality and what can/can't happen due to those acts. But both acts are still homicides.

Eventually, though, the media outlets will pick up the homicide rate, and they're far more likely to publish a source along with it. I'll update as needed.

EDIT: I misreported that Shabazz said homicide rate. After double checking, he did indeed use murder rate. My apologies. He also said his number came from Mayor Ballard's interview earlier today.