A city police officer faces a 30-day suspension after he allegedly hit a fleeing suspect with his patrol car.
Patrolman Nick McKinley is accused of running his car into 54-year-old Donnie Neely of South Bend just after 1 a.m. Nov. 5 after Neely allegedly dragged a different officer with his car and then tried to flee on foot.
Those allegations were presented to the Board of Public Safety today in a letter written by Police Chief Darryl Boykins.
In the letter, Boykins stated that McKinley was backing up Patrolman Kyle Dombrowski as he was conducting a vehicle stop.
But Dombrowski’s arm and shoulder were injured in the incident, after Neely sped off, dragging him down the street and around the corner until he fell free from the car.
Then, "McKinley got into his police mechanical and started pursuing the suspect vehicle," Boykins stated. "The suspect stopped his vehicle and fled on foot. Patrolman McKinley struck the suspect, who was fleeing on foot, with his patrol car."
That story is different than the initial reports of the incident told to The Tribune the day of the incident.
According to a Nov. 6, 2009, crime brief, police initially reported that Neely tripped getting out of his car and fell on the ground, breaking his knee cap in the process and also cutting himself, later requiring four stitches.
Capt. Phil Trent, reading the report today, said there was no mention of Neely being struck by the police car in the report, but it did say he fractured a knee cap and required four stitches.
Trent said that a later internal investigation into the incident led police to discover that Neely had actually been struck by the bumper of a patrol car.
Dombrowski, the officer dragged by the car, suffered only minor injuries.
Boykins’ told the board that McKinley’s actions violated four different sections of the department’s duty manual, including improper use of a police car and unnecessary force.
The chief recommended that McKinley be suspended for 30 days without pay.
McKinley can request a hearing to dispute the charges, and no final decision about the suspension has been made by the board.
According to Tribune archives, McKinley is a 2008 graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
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