Faced with being fired, an Indianapolis police officer retired Tuesday, the same day prosecutors charged him with a felony and five misdemeanors in connection with two alcohol-related crashes involving his department-issued cars.
George Leon Benjamin, a respected robbery detective and the brother of a deputy chief, allegedly was involved in accidents with four department-issued vehicles since 2002, yet was allowed to stay in the department and continued to drive take-home vehicles.
Weak evidence, lenient policies and the fact that Benjamin was widely regarded as a "good officer" helped him keep his job until the most recent incidents came to light Monday.
Benjamin, 46, checked himself into a treatment program Tuesday shortly after he told supervisors he would retire.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Michael Spears said he was going to seek to have Benjamin fired. A firing would not have changed Benjamin's pension or benefits.
"We take a pretty serious stance with" drunken driving, Spears said. "This is the only area of disciplinary action that is specifically outlined in policy. Regardless of who you are, you know what the consequences will be."
Under the current policy, any officer who crashes a department vehicle with even a trace of alcohol in his or her system faces a 30-day suspension for a first offense and termination for the second offense.
Prior to 2005, officers typically received a 15-day suspension for crashing a squad car while intoxicated. Benjamin's first two incidents occurred before the new policy was in place.
Officials say Benjamin committed two alcohol-related offenses in the past three weeks.
Prosecutors charged him with public intoxication and two counts of drunken driving after he allegedly crashed his department-issued Ford Taurus into a fence in the 7300 block of West Morris Street on Sunday night.
Benjamin also was charged with criminal mischief, public intoxication and failure to stop after an accident in connection with a July 22 crash in which Benjamin's department-issued Ford Crown Victoria struck and damaged a maintenance building in the Westpark Townhomes, 7800 block of West 10th Street.
The criminal mischief charge is a felony and carries a sentence of six months to three years in prison if convicted. The other charges are misdemeanors. Benjamin is scheduled to appear in Marion Superior Court today for a hearing.
Benjamin's brother, Deputy Chief William Benjamin, removed himself from the investigation to avoid any appearance of impropriety. The investigating supervisors, who typically reported to William Benjamin, reported directly to Spears, the chief said.
"He completely recused himself from any part of that investigation and has remained out of it," Spears said.
George Leon Benjamin had been working as a detective in the department's robbery section. He has 11 commendations and awards, including being named officer of the month for January 2001.
But off-duty, Benjamin had problems.
In 2004, he served a 10-day suspension and was required to undergo counseling after he struck a metal gate with a department vehicle, causing about $2,000 in damage to the vehicle. Benjamin was not arrested because no one witnessed him behind the wheel, a key element needed to prove a drunken-driving case.
Benjamin was suspended for five days in December 2005 after he failed to comply with the terms of a treatment program. Officials declined to elaborate.
In 2002, while Benjamin was assigned to then-Mayor Bart Peterson's security detail, he was off duty and behind the wheel of an unmarked patrol car that struck another vehicle outside a strip mall at 56th Street and Georgetown Road. Witnesses and authorities said Benjamin smelled of alcohol, but the officers who investigated did not give him a field sobriety or breath test. No arrests were made and no discipline was handed out, although he later left the mayor's security detail.
Department officials at the time criticized the Marion County sheriff's deputy who investigated the case for choosing not to test Benjamin's sobriety. Deputy Larry Crowe said he did not have enough probable cause to ask Benjamin to undergo the tests.
Public Safety Director Scott Newman said Tuesday that Benjamin's arrest and forced retirement show times have changed in the Police Department.
"Fifteen or 20 years ago, if you were pro-police, it meant you defended every officer no matter what," Newman said. "Now, even the union considers whether an action was within a framework of something that can be defended."
Bill Owensby, president of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, worked alongside Benjamin early in their careers.
"I thought he was a fine police officer," Owensby said. "I'm not blowing smoke. I thought he was a good cop."
Benjamin's alcohol problems happened while he was off duty, Owensby said. Benjamin's on-duty performance was not in question.
"If these incidents surfaced every few years or so, it's possible that he stayed under their radar," Owensby said. "They surfaced every so often, but not often enough to put a bull's-eye on his back."
Spears said he hopes Benjamin's swift separation from IMPD reminds other officers to stay away from alcohol whenever they drive their take-home vehicles.
"I clearly will not accept that type of conduct no matter who the officer is," Spears said.
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