Personal Injury Law

Allegations of Police Brutality Plague Police Department of Major U.S. City

By guest-writer

As the new year begins, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department faces several personal injury lawsuits surrounding alleged instances of police brutality. Most of the incidents occurred last year, but their effects have only begun to be felt by the embattled police department.

The first major injury occurred in August of 2010 when David Bisard, an Indianapolis police officer, struck and killed a motorcyclist when answering a police call. Bisard was driving 70 miles per hour on a surface street when he killed the motorcyclist and severely injured two others.

According to reports, the local community was further outraged when it learned that Bisard had a blood alcohol content of 0.19 shortly after the accident. This was more than twice the legal limit for Indiana drivers.

In addition, critics of the city?s handling of the situation questioned why the officers who responded to the scene failed to test Bisard?s blood alcohol content, which was only discovered later during a routine test required after fatal accidents.

In response, the responding officers claimed that Bisard did not appear to be drunk at the scene. An investigation by federal authorities later revealed that that these officers acted improperly by failing to collect necessary evidence at the scene.

Adding to the controversy, a city prosecutor dropped charges of drunk driving against Bisard shortly after the accident because the attorney found that the blood alcohol test was done improperly.

The estate of Eric Wells, who was the motorcyclist killed during the accident, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

The second allegation of wrongful police activity in Indianapolis stems from the arrest of Brandon Johnson, who was only 15 years old at the time of the incident.

Last year, Johnson was arrested by police after they responded to a burglary call. At the scene of the burglary, the police determined that Johnson?s brother had kicked in an apartment door, and Johnson tried to intervene when they arrested his brother.

Johnson claims he was simply asking them why they were arresting his brother, while the police claim that Johnson was arguing with them and stirring up a crowd that had gather nearby.

According to sources, Johnson was struck in the face and thrown roughly to the ground when the police handcuffed him. Pictures of Johnson after the arrest reveal chipped teeth, facial bruises, and a swollen eye.

The African-American community in Indianapolis was outraged after viewing the pictures of Johnson, and put pressure on the police department to discipline the officers for the alleged act of police brutality.

To their chagrin, the officer who caused most of Johnson?s injuries was not disciplined.

Unfortunately, instances of police brutality are relatively common. If you have suffered an injury as a result of unlawful police conduct, contact a local injury lawyer today.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on January 03, 2011 (boomark / email).