In August 2011, IMPD Officer David Bisard, on-duty, in his official vehicle, struck a group of motorcyclists, killing one and injuring two others. They were in plain sight at the time and readily avoidable. There are well-founded questions about what his blood-alcohol level might have been when it happened.
Today, he -- or his peers -- took out a police chief, too. Seems two vials of blood were drawn and one of them was to be left untouched by human hands; both were secured in Official IMPD refrigerated storage...only in November 2011, Persons Unrevealed took the untapped vial out of the so-secure IMPD property room,* and stuffed it in a room-temperature room over at the Po-lice Academy. Perhaps as a talisman of just how thick the ol' Thin Blue Line really is -- but I'm speculating.
A few days ago, the prosecutor's office thought it might be sort of instructive to have the nice, secure, untouched blood tested by a fully-accredited lab (with microscopes and everything!). But oopsie, it wasn't where it should have been. Much handwringing and panic ensued. In the aftermath, heads had to roll. Or a head, that of Chief Paul Ciesielski. Mind you, he's not the guy playing lose-the-evidence and nobody thinks he told anyone to, either; but he's out of the office, busted all the way back down to...Captain. I don't know if he had to take a pay cut.
Meanwhile, Officer Bisard (remember him? Fellow who ran over a few motorcyclists, in uniform and possibly in the bag) has been on paid leave since the accident. You or me, we'd've been in jail, or bonded out if we were very very lucky, but members of the new equestrian order, not so much.
Public Safety Director Straub, who's had two years already to make like a new broom, is all of a sudden complaining of police corruption.
Yeah, Frank. Y'think?
PSD Straub: "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here."
IMPD: "Your winnings, sir."
PSD Straub: "Thank you very much." ...
A long, long time ago, I suggested IMPD's rank and file needed to "start snitchin'." They still do. They still won't.
Somehow, Frank Straub remains employed. He's got a City-County Council confidence vote coming up tomorrow but all they can do is recommend.
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* Or would that be the "so-so secure property room?"
The problem with "start snitchin'" is who do you snitch to? If the corruption or even incompetence is in management, who do the hourlies fink to?
ReplyDeleteThis is, by the way, how bad drives out good in a PD. Unless a decent street officer is just hanging in for his pension, he'll seek greener pastures elsewhere.
SPQR: Senatus Populusque Republica. Remind me to hire a scribe to find me some Equestrian ancestors.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, at a Congressional Hearing over the GSA Party fund, CongressCritter Chavetz's first question was "What does it Take to Fire Someone? You have People on "Administrative Leave" making $170,000 a year with Full Benefits for Robbing the Taxpayer."
ReplyDeleteThen there's Canton, Ohio's Finest, Officer Harliss who's SUEING to get his job back, claiming he was "Wrongfully Terminated" because he "Suffered from PTSD" and the Dept. didn't help him.
Now you have more of this Crap in Indy. You know, in Terry Pratchett's Discworld Novel "Carpe Jugulem", Granny Weatherwax was brought in to deal with a Child Killer. She told the Crowd to "End It with Rope."
I'm really trying to be Civilized, but the way these so-Called "Public Servants" are treating us,and THEN they get to Walk Away, I'm beginning to think we need to put the Stocks back up on the Public Square.
Are you sure you don't live in New Jersey or thereabouts? That level of feigned incompetence is breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteAntibubba
PSD Straub is from "thereabouts," the state of New York; White Plains, I think. Late of NYPD and the Justice Department prior to that. FWIW.
ReplyDelete