Lafayette Police Officer threatens to kill man

[KW730]

I would like to know why the "special prosecutor", thought that no crime was committed.

What crime would this be? I can't think of one off the top of my head.

 

[Sean]

Well if he called and threatened to kill someone have your pick under IC 35-45-2

 

[JonProphet]

Another dirtball looking for a payday. Sounds like most of this is made up.

 

[jbombelli]

Another dirtball looking for a payday. Sounds like most of this is made up.

That must be why the officer got suspended for it ...

Newsflash: A lot of people out there are constantly on the lookout for an easy payday. Do your jobs right, don't be a d-bag, and you'll probably not have to worry about it.

 

[BIGKAT9]

I wonder if they a looking at this officer conduct to see if he has had any aggressive behavior in the past ,also this just goes to show that cops are only human.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I would like to know why the "special prosecutor", thought that no crime was committed.

Because of the potential appearance of impropriety.

The Special Prosecutor, the acting CLEO, determined that no crime transpired. This does not preclude a civil suit.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Well if he called and threatened to kill someone have your pick under IC 35-45-2

Good luck with that. The way this law has been applied in Indiana, I would be surprised if the officer was charged. I can think of numerous instances where people had call other people and saidf they were going to kill them, and nothing ever came of it. Unless officer lackwit provided some specifics, like "I'm going to shoot you in the face when I see you," then I wouldn't expect this to go anywhere.... at least as far as privite citizens are concerned.
He still should lose his job, over his conduct, tho.

 

[Black Cloud]

The suing in this country is just out of hand. People trying to make a quick buck for nothing. Lawyers help put this country where it is.

The cop should be fired and charged if what he did was illegal.

If a cop was your current nemesis, and you'd not only been allegedly threatened with your life ("who they gonna believe, punk, a low-life like you, or a good cop like me?"), but also allegedly jumped, beaten, and then never got a first-response because "the call was dropped before they could speak to the caller", what exactly would you feel you could do?!?

 

[Whosyer]

Somebody with a hair trigger like this guy shouldn't be in power over a mens restroom much less a position of authority while carrying a firearm. You can read the contempt in his face from the picture. LPD should cut their losses now before this guy does something even stupider!!

Ironic that you should mention that. The last time LPD had one of these guys,that's exactly what they did. Put him in charge of the mens restrooms. Well , technically, he "retired". (after many complaints of excessive force, a few instances of domestic violence, and starting one full scale bar room brawl) But after "retirement" , he was put in charge of mens restrooms. ( OK, they called it City Park Security, but you get the idea )

 

[sporter]

A person who calls and makes any kind of "death threat" is not stable.

Further, this person should not be a police officer any longer.

Actions have consequences.

 

[cubbetm]

wow how did I not hear about this? guess working a lot of hours has kept me out of the loop. to be honest I'm not surprised it happened

 

[Darral27]

I think it is appropriate that he is suing the LPD as well. The man making a threat to his life is an officer on their force, he was assaulted a week later and although two people claim a 911 call was made the dispatch claims the call was not completed (not sure how that works), the victim claims that the assault should have been recorded on the traffic cameras, yet it was not. Seem's to me there is a lot more to the story. Maybe a little bit of the "good ole boys" network in play here. I would think this guy knows where he was at when he attacked. Sounds like he may just deserve to win this one and win big.

 

[92ThoStro]

In my opinion, this would be accessory after the fact at best. I would think it more likely to be a case of public endangerment, for letting an accused officer remain on the street.

One problem here though, is he hasn't been convicted of anything. You can't justify punitive action for allegations alone.

I understand there may be a recording of a death threat. If that's the case, then ARREST him! Once arrested, he would no longer be on the streets, at least until the conclusion of a trial.

What the department needs to do is assign him to administrative duties until the matter is resolved legally. They really have no right to put him on leave, or to fire him, without a conviction or at least an arrest.

He may be a cop, but he's still a citizen too, and should be afforded the same rights.

Well said, I agree.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

According to the article, there is a tape recording of the death threat. I thought that was a felony.

Intimidation is very specific in the Indiana code. There are several elements that must be met, and simply telling someone "I'll kill you" only meets one of the elements and isn't enough for a conviction. Look at IC 35-45-2-1 and you'll see that intent is one of the elements, and that can be very difficult to prove. An oversimplification is if I walk up to you randomly and say "I'll break your leg" and then walk off, I didn't commit Intimidation. If I walk up to you and say "I'll break your leg because you called CPS on me yesterday" then that's Intimidation because its for a prior lawful act. If I walk up to you and say "If you buy that box of Twinkies in your hand, I'll break your leg", that's intimidation because I'm trying to make you engage in conduct against your will. Again, this is an oversimplification, but it shows that context is extremely important in a successful Intimidation charge.

From the article:

"A separate criminal investigation was forwarded to the Tippecanoe County prosecutor’s office. Special prosecutor James Fleming, who was appointed to review the case due to conflict of interest, determined that a threatening voice mail left for Vander Plaats by an “unknown male caller” did not amount to a crime."

So all you "double standard" guys take a look. It was investigated and it was forwarded to the prosecutor, just like your's would be.

 

[JonProphet]

That must be why the officer got suspended for it ...

Newsflash: A lot of people out there are constantly on the lookout for an easy payday. Do your jobs right, don't be a d-bag, and you'll probably not have to worry about it.

And that's why officers all get suspended w/ pay while an investigation is pending. I'm sure something happened between these two individuals, but this guy sounds like he's trying to get as much from the meal trough as he can while he can. Both are douche bags... either way.

-JD-