drunk officer kills motorcyclist

[Brandon]

I am not sure the previous crashes should be counted against him at the moment. We have all seen police videos on varios shows that show some idiot trying to get away from a leo chasing him and then hitting the leo's car. Atleast 2 of the crashes noted against the cop in question were from some form of chase related crashes... the others of hitting a fence... not sure about those but like others have said... leos drive alot.. maybe not as much as truckers and such, but still enough where a minor fence incident isnt much if anything.

I am glad to see the felony charges. Not sure if he deserves more but 7 sound like a good start if he does deserve more... if not then hes got enough to worry about for 6-20 years. I see it hard for him not to be conviced. I do feel sorry for the jury if they have to watch the video tape from the car when it makes impact.

 

[E5RANGER375]

as long as he goes away for life then thats all that matters. real sorry for his kids, i cant imagine what they are going through. i wonder if the innocent dead man had any kids? and the other guy might not make it either. this is just terrible. I cant believe this clown wasnt in jail the night of the incident. i think thats what gets me the most. theres NO WAY, you or I would have been free after doing this. and thats where I believe others need to be held accountible too and maybe lose their jobs. No way you can convince me there wasnt some kind of coverup or double standard on that scene. I got into a wreck one time (my fault, but no one died) and the first thing the IPD cop was doing was sticking a pen in my face and asking me to follow it to see if i had been drinking. even the retarded mayor seems to think there was some shady business going on.

i think the city council needs to make mandatory breath test for each shift. i think the cost of that would be well worth it. being a cop isnt like working at the local hardware store. they have lives in their hands.
of coarse I also think cops should undergo regular lie detector test. federal agencies do it, why not local?

 

[MinuteMan47]

i think the city council needs to make mandatory breath test for each shift. i think the cost of that would be well worth it. being a cop isnt like working at the local hardware store. they have lives in their hands.
of coarse I also think cops should undergo regular lie detector test. federal agencies do it, why not local?

I agree.

Maybe they should have a breathalyzer hooked up to their cruisers to ensure that no LEO has been drinking before driving their squad cars......

 

[E5RANGER375]

Maybe they should have a breathalyzer hooked up to their cruisers to ensure that no LEO has been drinking before driving their squad cars......

i too thought about that, but the first time it malfunctioned and didnt allow a sober officer to start their car to take a emergency call and it resulted in death then it would go bye bye. thats why i suggested the potable test because if it shows possitive then it can be veified with a more accurate breath test or a blood test later.

Im sure police organizations would fight either one tooth and nail

 

[MinuteMan47]

...I don't know how many times I have heard a LEO or someone with authority say "Unless you have something to hide, then why do you care?"

Ranger, you're right, you know there would be controversy if either of those ideas were presented... Funny how these double standards work.

 

[1032JBT]

i too thought about that, but the first time it malfunctioned and didnt allow a sober officer to start their car to take a emergency call and it resulted in death then it would go bye bye. thats why i suggested the potable test because if it shows possitive then it can be veified with a more accurate breath test or a blood test later.

Im sure police organizations would fight either one tooth and nail

...I don't know how many times I have heard a LEO or someone with authority say "Unless you have something to hide, then why do you care?"

Ranger, you're right, you know there would be controversy if either of those ideas were presented... Funny how these double standards work.

To show you guys I am not a hyprocite.....I have zero issues with me doing a PBT prior to work because after all.........I DON'T have anything to hide. I already submit to "random" drug screens which does include a certified breath test and a urine screen for drugs. I have absolutley zero issues proving I'm sober and if I am even in question that anything other than a .000%BrAC would show up then I don't go to work. My job and providing for my family means more to me than that.

 

[mrjarrell]

as long as he goes away for life then thats all that matters. real sorry for his kids, i cant imagine what they are going through. i wonder if the innocent dead man had any kids? and the other guy might not make it either. this is just terrible. I cant believe this clown wasnt in jail the night of the incident. i think thats what gets me the most. theres NO WAY, you or I would have been free after doing this. and thats where I believe others need to be held accountible too and maybe lose their jobs. No way you can convince me there wasnt some kind of coverup or double standard on that scene. I got into a wreck one time (my fault, but no one died) and the first thing the IPD cop was doing was sticking a pen in my face and asking me to follow it to see if i had been drinking. even the retarded mayor seems to think there was some shady business going on.

i think the city council needs to make mandatory breath test for each shift. i think the cost of that would be well worth it. being a cop isnt like working at the local hardware store. they have lives in their hands.
of coarse I also think cops should undergo regular lie detector test. federal agencies do it, why not local?

If he was like most cops when caught in wrong doing he probably invoked his Garrity rule and shut things down.

 

[1032JBT]

What about hit and runs when you don't find them until the next day?

Sorry Joe.....missed you on my last quote.

Unfortunately unless we have witnesses that can testify in court (which we never really do in those cases) then they get away with the OWI portion of that but we would still have ways to prove the Leaving the Scene part.

the thing is that people like this never learn from their mistakes. When they think they have gotten one up or over on us one might think they would count their lucky stars and change their behavior......they don't. They just get more cocky and do it all over again and we catch them the next time and just hope nobody gets hurt in the meantime.

I know that's a sad way to look at it but I would rather let them walk if the evidence wasn't there than put them in jail and risk making bad case law for the rest. See contrary to what others on here say or think about cops.......the vast majority feel this way. If the evidnce isn't there then you cut your losses and get 'em next time.

 

[semperfi211]

I agree.

Maybe they should have a breathalyzer hooked up to their cruisers to ensure that no LEO has been drinking before driving their squad cars......

So then they would start their shift sober and start drinking after they have started, or have one of their buds blow into their cars breathalyzer for them, unless the breathalyzer has to be blown every 30 minutes, that might make things tough.

 

[Benny]

That's pretty crappy that they don't get the DUI...It almost like an incentive to just run.



BTW, the same goes for you as it does Public Servant:

Quit wasting your fingers trying to convince the idiots...All of us with half a brain know that the majority of you guys think like that.

Sorry Joe.....missed you on my last quote.

Unfortunately unless we have witnesses that can testify in court (which we never really do in those cases) then they get away with the OWI portion of that but we would still have ways to prove the Leaving the Scene part.

the thing is that people like this never learn from their mistakes. When they think they have gotten one up or over on us one might think they would count their lucky stars and change their behavior......they don't. They just get more cocky and do it all over again and we catch them the next time and just hope nobody gets hurt in the meantime.

I know that's a sad way to look at it but I would rather let them walk if the evidence wasn't there than put them in jail and risk making bad case law for the rest. See contrary to what others on here say or think about cops.......the vast majority feel this way. If the evidnce isn't there then you cut your losses and get 'em next time.

 

[long coat]

How much would someone need to drink to get the .19 he had?

 

[Benny]

How much would someone need to drink to get the .19 he had?

It completely depends on the person, but it's definitely not a small amount...Especially since we are talking about an officer on the job and not Joe Shmoe hanging out at his house playing drinking games with his buddies.

On average it's about .02 per drink and every hour you lose .02, so if he just started he would have had to have had about 10 shots or 10-12 ounces beers in an hour.

If he had been drinking for 4 hours, he would have had to have about 14 drinks to register that high and so on...

That guy was a serious drunk.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

I agree.

Maybe they should have a breathalyzer hooked up to their cruisers to ensure that no LEO has been drinking before driving their squad cars......

So then they would start their shift sober and start drinking after they have started, or have one of their buds blow into their cars breathalyzer for them, unless the breathalyzer has to be blown every 30 minutes, that might make things tough.

Maybe every non-leo citizen should have an ignition interlock device on their vehicle as well? That way the police would never have to worry about drunk drivers on the roads. But then the drinking driver would just get their sober buddy to blow into the instrument to get the car started. If we are going to do it for cops, lets just do it for everybody.

 

[phylodog]

I think taking a PBT before every shift for every officer in this city is a great idea. Why not make us all pay a price for the action of one officer? Hell, the Mayor himself pretty much dumped the blame on every IMPD officer out there in his news conference today.

The age of personal responsibility is as dead as Elvis. Our society is hell bent on finding blame with anyone in the world other than the person who is at fault.

 

[Benny]

Maybe every non-leo citizen should have an ignition interlock device on their vehicle as well? That way the police would never have to worry about drunk drivers on the roads. But then the drinking driver would just get their sober buddy to blow into the instrument to get the car started. If we are going to do it for cops, lets just do it for everybody.

I think that's a fantastic idea!

Sure, there will be loopholes("friends" blowing into it for them), but there would be much less drunk drivers on the road.

I don't ever drive drunk, but I'd welcome having a breathalizer in my car for the times I go out and have a couple of drinks, just so I have the peace of mind that I know I didn't accidentally have that "one too many" that would put me at risk of a DUI.



BTW, what sort of assbag friend could blow into a breathalizer for a friend if he was sober? TAKE YOUR "FRIEND" HOME.

 

[E5RANGER375]

Maybe every non-leo citizen should have an ignition interlock device on their vehicle as well?

sounds like a great idea to me. seriously im all for it. i cant believe they havent already mandated it. oh, wait, then politicians could'nt drive drunk either outside of D.C. , theres your answer.

in reality your hardcore alcy's would bypass it somehow. but i do think it would reduce the number of first time offenders substancialy. to me if it saves one life then its worth it. i dont look at it as giving up any freedoms, because driving drunk is illegal.

when they showed this cops schedule of the day on the news and that he took his kids to soccer or whatever, i just felt happy that he didnt kill one of his own kids while driving them.

 

[public servant]

Maybe every non-leo citizen should have an ignition interlock device on their vehicle as well? That way the police would never have to worry about drunk drivers on the roads. But then the drinking driver would just get their sober buddy to blow into the instrument to get the car started. If we are going to do it for cops, lets just do it for everybody.

I think taking a PBT before every shift for every officer in this city is a great idea. Why not make us all pay a price for the action of one officer? Hell, the Mayor himself pretty much dumped the blame on every IMPD officer out there in his news conference today.

The age of personal responsibility is as dead as Elvis. Our society is hell bent on finding blame with anyone in the world other than the person who is at fault.

You'll notice several people on here freely giving up someone else's rights. I'm sure it wouldn't take long on the search page to see they are against such intrusions in anyone else's lives. But because he's a second class citizen in their eyes...it becomes pretty easy to give up such things.

The same people promoting mandatory PBT's, lie detector tests and giving up the officer's 5th Amendment rights are the same ones who cry foul at the thought of voluntarily informing of a LTCH during a simple traffic stop or raise hell about a sobriety check point.

Just remember...once it happens to him...you're next. He should be afforded every right any citizen has (because that's exactly what he is). And if and when he's found guilty...he should be subject to the punishment any other citizen would receive.

If you define any of this as sympathy for him...you're wrong.

 

[KDUBCR250]

He should be afforded every right any citizen has (because that's exactly what he is). And if and when he's found guilty...he should be subject to the punishment any other citizen would receive.
.

 

[hornadylnl]

According to today's Star, the cop is on desk duty now. Any other citizen would have gone straight to jail. He should have been immediately terminated. The paper said officers get a 30 day suspension for the first offense and terminated the second. I should become a Leo so I can be a super citizen.

 

[phylodog]

There is a legal process involved in terminating a sworn LEO in Indiana as a result of the merit law. He will be terminated, no question. I am told that he was not immediately arrested at the crash because no one suspected that he was intoxicated. A blood draw is standard procedure if an officer is involved in a fatal accident while on duty and the results of that blood draw are not immediately available. Knowing that a blood draw was inevitable it would serve no purpose to delay his arrest. Proper procedures were followed in this case just as they would have been had it been a fatal accident not involving a police officer. His warrant has been issued and he will face trial.

Short of the families of the victims in this crash, no one is more pissed off about this entire incident than I am. I am still unable to put my fury into words that would appear as anything but ***** on this site.