Home

Join

Main Menu



blog advertising is good for you
Powered by Disqus

Links

Like IB

«
»

A Matter of Trust

My wife and I were driving back from dinner last night when we heard police sirens.  It was an officer responding to a call so we did what you’re supposed to do, which is pull over to the side of the road.  However, as I got out of the officer’s way, for a brief moment the thought entered my mind that the person behind the wheel might be impaired.   The thought only stayed there for a second,  but the fact remains it was there.

If someone as pro-law enforcement as me was thinking that for a brief moment, I can only imagine what other motorists must have been thinking. And that is the fundamental problem with the David Bisard matter.   It goes beyond the tragic accident, to a matter of trust between law enforcement and the community it is supposed to serve.

The only way public safety can truly be effective is if the community at -large has trust and faith in it.  The public is willing to accept the occasional bad apple.  In any organization you will have people who drop the ball and the public is forgiving.   Not so much this time.  Public trust has been shattered.

The real tragedy in all this is there is not going to be any quick resolve to all this.  And to make matters worse, the people who’ve always had an ax to grind with law enforcement are taking advantage of the opportunity to exploit it for their own personal gain.  The only thing law enforcement can do is work slowly to get back in the good graces of the public.

I hope they don’t have to be anywhere any time soon, because that’s going to take a while.

Posted: 08|21|10 at 6:15 am by Abdul Hakim-Shabazz
Follow this entry via RSS 2.0. Comment | Trackback

  • Anonymous

    Seems like every time the Chief has opened his mouth, he’s been wrong.

    They will have an incredible time trying to convince John Q. Public that NONE of the police officers that were in contact with Bisard had no clue AT ALL that he might be impaired, or had even been drinking.

    Remember, there were several highly trained professionals in close contact with Bisard, including medics. NONE of them AT ALL detected any signs of impairment? NONE of them detected any odor of alcoholic beverage?

    Let’s not forget the entourage of police officers that were filmed at Bisard’s home after the ‘incident’. Looked like at least 5 police cars at his home.

    Did any of them detect any of the signs that someone had been drinking? After all, he was OVER two times the ‘legal’ limit.

    Or, like the silly DUI commercials, do we have to be swimming in booze to be ‘detected’?

    Why the two hour delay in testing Bisard? How could he be in a small room with other police officers, and yet again, NO ONE detected ANYTHING amiss with Bisard.

    Are our police so incompetent that they DIDN’T KNOW that the blood test might be thrown out? Or, did they know, and fail to take Bisard to Wishard?

    I’m thinking that every officer that had contact with Bisard should be disciplined to varying degrees…written reprimands, suspensions, and firings. That LT of the FACT team should be REMOVED from employment.

    It has been written that Bisard was very ‘aggressive’ in his pursuit of arresting drunk drivers, etc. I see that he has no problem drinking and driving himself.

  • Wilson46201

    The key paragraph:
    “Are our police so incompetent that they DIDN’T KNOW that the blood test might be thrown out? Or, did they know, and fail to take Bisard to Wishard?”

  • indyernie

    Bisard if found guilty should pay the price…until then what happened to “innocent until proven guilty”?

  • Taxpayer 834512

    “Innocent until proven guilty” does’t account for some procedural foul-ups the average person perceives they would not receive. Is it common or very unusual that the driver in this accident would not be alcohol-tested at the accident scene, then after a delay, taken to the “wrong place” to have testing done, performed by the “wrong personnel” whose testing will not stand-up in court?

    If this happens a lot to any driver in a vehicular accident, that’s a big procedural hole. If this is a very unusual occurance, it indeed stinks to high heaven.

  • Think Again

    You’re mostly right, of course, Ernie, but we taxpayer are also entitled to take notice of the facts not in dispute:

    ****The Prosecutor, who’s one step above a slouch himself, dismissed the DUI portion of charges, due to the sloppy testing.

    ****Someone, in their infinite wisdom, released the BAT results, which showed Bisard hopelessly drunk. Bisard did not dispute the results.

    ****One person who was stopped, well out of the way, on a motorcycle, is dead. Another is in a coma.

    I want Bisard to get all the legal help he needs. But he’s not a n ordinary citizen. And the above facts are stipulated by all parties–not in dispute.

    On those facts, the public has a perfect right to weigh in. And they have. Any chance Ballard had at re-election, which was slim anyway, is gone. His new public safety director is a failure, and the end result is our wonderful LEOs, who are in the majority, have to carry this crap around too long.

  • Think Again

    You’re incorrect, Aires. This isn’t the chief. He may end up being the fall guy, but it’s not his fault.

  • pascal

    The silence of the officer is likely a condition imposed by his lawyer. The legal system is so fouled up with dumb criminal procedure that only a fool would now talk with a law enforcement official-see Blago, where he was convicted on the one count of “lying”-same with scooter Libby when the dipstick prosecutor knew that Libby was not the leaker.
    I don’t know that officer had even breathed in a whiff of alcohol…and neither does any reader of this blog. The evidence of those who observed his behavior gives no indication of the consumption of any alcohol at all. There was no DUI period.
    A different blog has video of a number of high ranking officers at the scene. Why bay at the moon and urge the Mayor to “show leadership”? The police had plenty of high quality leaders at the scene, experienced law enforcement officers, and it is inconceivable that they would conspire to cover up…on such short notice…anything about the accident.
    When in doubt consult Occam’s razor.

  • MH

    I know how you feel Abdul..one day a talk show radio host went by and I pulled over, thinking he might be possibly intoxicated, because I know of at least one who is partial to scotch and martini’s. It’s scary, the trust lost there because of the actions of 1..*Brutha Please!*

  • http://www.indianainsurancehealth.com Indiana Health Quote

    Let’s hope there are only a “few” bad apples. And I do believe that is the case. Time will heal these wounds but some good deeds and public relations will help as well.

  • Southsider

    There was a good deed, but it got buried in Saturday’s Star section B page 2.. an Officer went into a house on fire and saved a life..

  • http://twitter.com/IndyStudent Matthew Stone

    Southsider, newspapers work differently than other outlets. That same story was on the front page of television news’ web sites. I saw it myself. And it was an event that happened Friday morning (this one, right? http://www.theindychannel.com/news/24698509/det…) so there’s not much of a reason to write up much about it on a Saturday publication.

    Regardless of if the perception is correct or not, there is a perception out there among a lot of the community that IMPD isn’t doing well right now. The downtown motorcyclists are pretty much pissed off. IMPD and the city would do well for some serious community outreach, and do it soon.

  • Nick

    The cover up will claim more more careers than the original incident.

    The truth sets you free.

  • slum and gravy

    This won’t be the last embarrassing episode for IMPD in the near term, I fear. It is an organization totally devoid of discipline. I think that every time I see an off-duty cop blow by me on the interstate going well over the speed limit, or directing traffic with a gut hanging below his belt. The leadership is responsible for this condition and must go. An army of asses led by a lion is far better than an army of lions led by an ass…

  • Taxpayer 834512

    I don’t think public trust is shattered because we fear the average policeman behind the wheel is impaired. I think we do have zero trust that there will be a fair shake in a court of law if it were us, or one of the members that died on that motorcycle.

    The police have an impossible job to do. I think they deserve every possible break. I don’t think this is one of them.

  • Taxpayer 834512

    …one of our FAMILY members that…

  • Buzzy Whitlow

    I wonder why the notice of this was such a small article, buried in the back? Shouldn’t this hero get a little more credit? Anybody at the Indianapolis “Red” Star listening?

  • http://twitter.com/IndyStudent Matthew Stone

    Taxpayer, excellent point. Brizzi, on a very good WIBC show this Saturday, made the point that the public outrage isn’t from the crime itself, it’s the perception of favoritism from the investigating body (IMPD).

    Either way you spin it, either top brass intentionally broke the rules, or they were ignorant enough and didn’t follow the rules.

  • Wilson46201

    To compound this mess, the County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi is also seen as hopelessly corrupt and untrustworthy…

  • dirtyblues

    this critic awaits the complying of all the facts that can know about this case…

    but there is no way this critic is of the idea/opinion…

    that these many high ranking police officials put their jobs & good names on the line…

    to cover up a “moment of bad judgement” on the part of officer bisard

    …priceless!!!

  • Taxpayer 834512

    Plus, if you or I had been the driver in a vehicular accident with a fatality, wouldn’t the officer request our sunglasses be removed pretty early to better ascertain our state? Unless I’m missing some, why are there no posts frrm officers in defense of this incident?

    I just did jury duty a month ago. We convicted a guy on one count purely on cirumstantial evidence. There is a sizable amount gathering that says this situation ain’t right.

  • Me

    Above it are nineteen.

  • CitizenJ

    It appears there are definately problems within the department, from beatings, drugs, arson, dui’s and general bad behavior. Changes were made to the department earlier this year with some older more seasoned officers assuming top post. It, to me, is sad that the three officers demoted were not given enough time to perhaps get the department back on it’s path of professionalism and accountability.

  • Ramon

    ..and the problem is that Massa is seen as just an extension of Brizzi and that culture of corruption.

  • http://twitter.com/IndyStudent Matthew Stone

    Seen by who? The Republicans could run Jesus Christ and the Ed Treacey’s of the world would be accusing him of being “an extension of Brizzi and that culture of corruption.”

  • Guest

    The department has been grossly lacking leadership for many years. Why does an officer and a Sgt/Lt/Capt/ on up to Chief share the same labor contract? Isn’t a labor contract supposed to protect officers from bad/poor management (pay and working conditionas)? Additionally, why do retirees have ANY say in the current labor contract? The problems with this supposed police department include the FOP as well as management.

  • Alvtjohnson

    My family has been a long time supporter of the police department as well as pledging regular until recently my 4 week old puppy was stolen from my yard by a woman I did not know and is a new neighbor to my neighbor hood, I am a elderly woman so I asked my daughter to call 911 to have a officer meet us at the woman’s home, a officer responded, the lady did tell him she took the dog, she said I gave it to her my daughter asked him if that was true, why would we waste time calling for help, this young lady cussed me out,I stood there expecting a officer to do his job and protect and serve me, it did not happen again my daughter told him we did not know this lady and she trepassed as well as stole from me, he arrested my daughter for public intoxication which was thrown out, and he never made a report of any kind, I had to go home and another officer came and took my report, yet my daughter who has never been in trouble was arrested. placed in jail, my dog has still not been recovered because a gary style cop did not do his job, and the dog was on the site when the first call was made. but they just let my daughter go like nothing happened. and not one cop has done any follow up on my complaint, and they wonder why the public no longer has any faith in them,I also contacted the FOP, The mayor, the safety director, Mitch Daniels,the cheif of police and several others you would think one of these bigwiggs would respond to my letters or phone calls.so indeed it is a matter of trust.and this whole summer there have been so many cops in the wrong why should they be trusted.If any of us had did any of the things they have done we would be in jail.

  • pascal