Officer David Bisard Arrested for Drunk Driving

Suspended Indianapolis Metro Police Officer David Bisard has been arrested for Operating a vehicle While Intoxicated (OWI) following an accident Saturday afternoon in Lawrence.

According to sources, Bisard blew a .16 on an alcohol breath test but refused a chemical test, so he was taken to the hospital for a blood draw.

Officers were dispatched to the 10000 block of Indian Lake Boulevard South in Lawrence around 2:30 p.m. for a property damage accident. Police say Bisard was the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident.

Police say Bisard smelled of alcohol and that he failed a field sobriety test and a Breathalyzer test at the scene of the crash. According to police, Bisard was eastbound on Indiana Lake Boulevard when he struck a speed limit sign, knocking it down, and then hit the guardrail.

Lawrence Police walked Bisard into Wishard Hospital for a blood draw. They arrived in an unmarked vehicle and Bisard was taken inside handcuffed. After the blood draw, Bisard was taken to the Marion County Arrestee Processing Center.

Bisard's Attorney John Kautzmann tells Eyewitness News he is not commenting on his client's arrests nor his possible release from jail. 

IMPD Chief Rick Hite told Eyewitness News he was aware of Bisard's arrest Saturday and that it's in the hands of the prosecutors.

August 2010 crash
David Bisard was involved in an August 2010 crash that resulted in the death of motorcyclist Eric Wells. Two others, Mary Mills and Kurt Weekly, were critically injured in the crash and Weekly has permanent brain damage.

Bisard was charged with reckless homicide and other charges in connection with the crash. A blood alcohol content test determined he was over twice the legal limit to drive at the time of the crash. But botched procedures - both with the blood draw itself and later in the IMPD evidence room - led to drunk driving charges being thrown out.

Last year, an appeals court ruled that the blood draw could be allowed as evidence.  Bisard's attorneys had argued that the blood draw should not be allowed on the grounds that the medical assistant who took the blood had not followed proper protocols and that the draw should have been taken at a hospital, not a clinic.

In September, the appeals court ruled that the medical assistant did in fact follow physician-approved protocols, "and that the statutes cited by Bisard do not reflect that the General Assembly intended to suppress blood evidence taken in a medical facility by a trained operator in the presence of the suspect's lawyer. We therefore reverse."
A trial date has been set for October 15th, 2013.

Meantime, the city has agreed to pay Weekly and Mills, who are married, a total of $2.3 million. Weekly was awarded $1.35 million and Mills $975,000.

A $1.5 million settlement was reached with the family of Eric Wells in June 2012.
Recent developments:

March 4: IMPD officers, demoted after Bisard crash, now promoted - The Indianapolis Metro Police Department promoted some of its officers to high-ranking positions Monday. Ronald Hicks and John Conley both played roles at the scene where suspended Officer David Bisard is accused of crashing into three motorcycle riders while driving drunk in August 2010.

Ronald Hicks was promoted to Assistant Chief of Police and John Conley is now Commander of the Southeast District. Both were promoted in a ceremony held in the Chief's Conference Room.

Hicks and Conley, along with then- Assistant Chief Darryl Pierce, were demoted a few weeks after the Bisard crash, which claimed the life of Eric Wells, due to a "failure in leadership" amid claims of a flawed investigation. Bisard's blood alcohol content was tested at well over the legal limit, but drunk driving charges were thrown out on a technicality stemming from the way the blood sample was handled.

Jan. 3: IMPD evidence room undergoes changes after Bisard blood removed - Critical blood evidence from a deadly drunk driving case against Officer David Bisard was mistakenly removed from a refrigeration unit in the IMPD property room and transferred to storage. It sat unrefrigerated from mid-November 2011 to April 2012.

Police Chief Paul Ciesielski stepped down and the FBI stepped in to investigate. But the only culprit found was outdated and poorly constructed property room guidelines.

13 Investigates and its cameras ventured inside the property room for a rare look at how evidence in some of the city's worst and highest profile cases are now stored.

Officer Robert Barthelemy Arrested for Kidnapping

Authorities in central Louisiana have spent the weekend searching for a man they believe was kidnapped from his home at gunpoint by a Natchitoches police officer.

Twenty-five year-old Tony Procell has been missing for almost a week.

The Shreveport Times reports that security video at Procell's mobile home showed Natchitoches police Officer Robert Barthelemy leading Procell out at gunpoint last Tuesday.

Barthelemy was booked Wednesday with aggravated kidnapping and home invasion. Bond has not been set.

Defense attorney Brian McRae did not immediately return a call and an email Sunday.

Search crews have been looking in Sabine, DeSoto and Natchitoches parishes.

Corrections Officer Michael Mangarillo Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Child

A New York Corrections officer is behind bars for allegedly sexually assaulting a child.

Police say Michael Mangarillo, 55, sexually abused the 12-year-old girl last year at his Mooers home.

Police say Mangarillo knew the child and the alleged abuse happened while she was visiting him from New Jersey.

Mangarillo works at Altona Correctional Facility. He's being held without bail.

Two Sergeants Arrested After Robbery

A Good Samaritan snapped photos of what appeared to be two men impersonating police officers involved in a pistol-whipping and robbery outside a Citgo gas station on Detroit's east side on July 21.

"Several unidentified police officers were working this particular robbery case, recognized one of the suspects in the photographs as being a member of the Detroit Police Department," Chief James Craig said Monday.

Now under arrest are two police sergeants, a 47-year-old officer and 20-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department and his 42-year-old buddy from the police academy, who is a former DPD cop and 17-year veteran of the St. Clair Shores Police Department. The later recently received a distinguished service award.

"In fact, they were police officers, just not working on-duty at the time," Craig said.

One of the alleged victims identified the St. Clair Shores sergeant from a photo lineup.

It is alleged the two sergeants pulled up in a black pickup, got out of the truck with their guns drawn and their badges around their necks, detained two young men in their early twenties, searched them and pistol-whipped one of them, stealing his wallet and cell phone. The other alleged victim told police they also stole his money.

"At this time, there is no evidence to support that both sergeants were involved in any other police impersonation cases that have been reported in recent weeks," Craig said.

"Know that if we have officers engaging in criminal misconduct that we will investigate. We will always be transparent about this business and making sure that our community is aware of how we're conducting our investigations."

The Detroit police sergeant was arrested at work at the 12th Precinct on Saturday. The St. Clair Shores sergeant was picked up at his home.

While a warrant has been submitted to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, no charges have yet been authorized.

Meanwhile, the attorney for the St. Clair Shores sergeant said this case is not at all what it seems and that the alleged victims are far from innocent.

"I think there is going to be a totally different story to this case. These are two highly decorated police officers. They're not rogue cops. They're not cops out on the street trying to take down innocent people," said Todd Flood.

Sources said the teenage daughter of the St. Clair Shores sergeant was recently robbed of her cell phone and that the two officers were tracking down the people responsible. Flood would not confirm or deny that.

"This is a situation where there's more to it than what meets the eye or what's being reported," he said.

Deputy Chief Andi Higbee Arrested for DUI

Deputy Chief Andi Higbee, of the Burlington Police Department, has been arrested for Driving Under the Influence.

According to the Vermont State Police, Higbee was pulled over on Route 105 in Sheldon early Sunday morning. Officials say the reason he was stopped was for failing to use a turn signal. Higbee was subsequently arrested for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. He was transported to the St. Albans Barracks and released on a citation. Higbee is due in court on August 12th.

According to Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling, Higbee has been placed on paid administrative leave. No one from the department was available for further comment Sunday.

This is not Higbee's first arrest. In 1999, Higbee pleaded guilty to drunk driving after crashing his car in Charlotte. In both cases, Higbee was off-duty.

Officer Peter Ciollo Arrested for Attempted Rape

An off-duty New York City police officer has been arrested and charged with the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl.

Officer Peter Ciollo, 29, is accused of having sex with the teen relative at his Staten Island house on the Fourth of July.

The victim is reportedly his sister in law's sister or other immediate relative on his wife's side of the family.

Authorities say Ciollo gave the girl alcohol to drink, then let her drive his car around the neighborhood.

Then they returned to his home, where he allegedly showed her computer porn before they started touching each other in his bed.

The girl says she doesn't remember what happened next, but she told police that when she woke up, she was in the bed and Ciollo's wife had walked in on them.

A wedding notice in the Staten Island Advance says he was married in 2009.

Ciollo is charged with attempted rape, endangering the welfare of a child, sexual abuse and unlawfully dealing with a child-alcohol. He has been an officer since 2006, assigned to the 120th Precinct.

He has been suspended without pay.

Officer Ernest Wilson Charged with Domestic Assault

A decommissioned Metro police officer has been charged for shoving his wife.

According to authorities, 43-year-old Ernest Wilson faces a misdemeanor domestic assault charge for shoving his wife into a wall during a dispute at their home last month.

Wilson's wife reported the matter to the police department's domestic violence division, and Wilson was decommissioned pending further investigation.

Wilson is an eight year police department veteran who was last assigned to the north precinct.

Officer Brian Blue Arrested for DWI

The Fort Worth Police Department is once again dealing with the arrest of an officer accused of driving while intoxicated.

On June 26th, Officer Brian S. Blue was arrested after being involved in a minor crash while off duty. He was driving his personal vehicle.

Toxicology tests are pending to determine if Blue was drunk, or under the influence of another substance.

Officer Blue remains on restricted duty.

No one was hurt in the crash.

Lt. Michael Hayes Charged with Solicitation of Minor

The second in command of a small Brunswick County police force paid a teen $60 for sex acts, an arrest warrant detailed Wednesday.

Michael Alan Hayes, 38, a lieutenant with the Northwest Police Department, surrendered to police Wednesday morning on charges of solicitation of a minor for sex and filing a false police report. He has since been released.

According to the warrant, Hayes contacted the girl via Craigslist.org and met with her Nov. 27.

The warrant also charges that on the same day, Hayes filed a false report with the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office "concerning the sources and circumstances of the damage to the vehicle" he was operating. The warrant alleges Hayes' false report prevented a deputy from fully investigating "the cause of bullet strikes to the vehicle."

According to the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office, Hayes reported he was driving his personal vehicle along River Road near Sunny Point on Nov. 27 when someone shot at his car. Hayes reported finding a dent in the body of the vehicle and a hole in his tire.

How that relates to the prostitution charge was not immediately clear.

Hayes, an eight-year veteran of the Northwest Police Department, tendered his resignation to Chief Copelan Taylor on Tuesday, Taylor said.

"I have some issues I need to attend to in my personal life," Hayes wrote in the two-sentence resignation provided to the StarNews by Taylor.

The chief said the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation contacted him Saturday to say that Hayes was being investigated. Taylor said he put Hayes on 30 days of paid leave that night.

According to Jennifer Canada, spokeswoman for the SBI, the investigation into Hayes followed a request from the Boiling Spring Lakes Police Department, which recently arrested two men in connection with a prostitution investigation that began there in November 2012.

On May 4, Boiling Spring Lakes police arrested Kyle Bradley Wolfe, 20, and Shawn Christopher Conley, 20, on charges of prostitution of a minor.

Boiling Spring Lakes Police Chief Brad Shirley said at the time of the arrests the investigation involved advertisements on the Internet via different social media websites. The warrant for Hayes names the same 17-year-old girl as the warrants for Wolfe and Conley.

Hayes has a misdemeanor death by vehicle conviction on his record from May 1991 in New Hanover County.

According to an article in the Wilmington Morning Star, Hayes was 16 when the car he was driving ran into the back of a vehicle on Gordon Road. His 14-year-old girlfriend, Jennifer Allen, was killed and two others – Sharon Shivar, 15, and Kevin Francis Dwyer, 16 – were injured. The group was on the way to school at Laney High, the article states.

Hayes was convicted of the misdemeanor in August 1993.

Chief Taylor said he was unaware of the incident, but it would not have prevented Hayes from becoming a police officer.

Former Officer Bennie Hand Charged with Sexually Abusing Vulnerable Adult

A former Wellford police officer was arrested Tuesday by state agents after they said he sexually and physically abused a vulnerable adult.

The State Law Enforcement Division said between July 1, 2012 and Jan. 1, 2013, 32-year-old Bennie Hand sexually battered and physically abused the victim, who suffers from a mental condition impairing her from providing her own care or protecting herself.

During the abuse, SLED said Hand worked as a Wellford police officer.

Wellford Mayor Thomas Watson said the city received a complaint about the allegations made against Hand and called in SLED to investigate. He was placed on administrative leave when the investigation began and was fired following his arrest, Watson said.

Hand was arrested on charges of misconduct in office, criminal sexual conduct third degree and abuse of a vulnerable adult.

State agents were called in to investigate at the request of Wellford police and the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office will prosecute the case.

Hand is being held at the Spartanburg County Detention Center.

Officer Kristopher Landis Arrested for Drinking and Driving

A Farmington Hills police officer has been suspended without pay after investigators say he was drinking and driving.

Officer Kristopher Landis has been with the Farmington Hills police department for 7 years.

On the night of March 10, police in South Lyon say Landis crashed his Buick into an unoccupied parked car on South Parkwood Drive.

The owner of the car said his car was totaled.

According to the police report, Landis told investigators he was driving home when he hit the other car. The report says Landis' "speech was greatly slurred" and there was a "very strong odor of intoxicants on his breath".

Documents show Officer Landis had a blood alcohol content of .17 which is more than twice the legal limit of .08.

A second test showed he had a blood alcohol content of .15. Officer Landis says he plead guilty to drinking and driving. He gave this statement to 7 Action News:

"I was going through an extremely hard time in my life. I made a mistake. I'm grateful
no one was hurt. I've learned from it. I'm using it to better myself as an officer and a person.

I'm extremely grateful for all the support from my immediate family and my brothers
at the police department."

We reached out to Farmington Hills Police Chief Chuck Nebus. He says Officer Landis is a good officer with a good record. As for when Landis could be back on the force, Chief Nebus said he can't legally comment since the internal matter hasn't been resolved yet.

Officer Jefferson Taylor III Charged with DUI

A Williamson Police officer is suspended without pay after State Police charged him with driving under the influence.

Jefferson Taylor III, 23, was charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident after troopers in Pike County, Kentucky say he crashed his cruiser before 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to court documents.

Williamson Police Chief Dave Rockel told us his department is conducting an internal investigation into the matter which will coincide with the Kentucky State Police investigation.

Rockel also noted how surprised he was because Taylor is an educated and very promising officer.

Officer Jeffrey Taylor Arrested for Falsifying Time Sheets

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested one of its own Wednesday.

Detectives arrested Officer Jeffrey T. Taylor after he turned himself in Wednesday evening.

Taylor is charged with obtaining property by false pretense, stemming from a criminal investigation which concluded Taylor falsified time sheets while working a secondary, off-duty job at the Arboretum Shopping Center between October 2012 and January 2013.

Chief Rodney Monroe released the following statement:

"The actions of this officer do not reflect the character of the dedicated men and women that wear the badge of the CMPD with honor.

The public deserves to know that the officers sworn to protect our community are of the highest integrity. We will continue to hold our officers to the highest standards and accountable for their actions."

Taylor is now on unpaid administrative leave pending a criminal and internal investigation. He was hired by the CMPD on April 26, 1989. He was assigned to the Metro Division and worked as a school resource officer at Phillip O. Berry High School.