Ciesielski and Straub Really Have Egg On Their Faces

I just got through listening to Darryl Pierce, Ron Hicks and John Conley walk the Law Enforcement Study Commission through the events of that fateful day when K-9 Officer David Bisard crashed his police cruiser into a group of motorcyclists, killing one and seriously injuring two others. These three men could not have done a better job of explaining the events from a factual standpoint for the first time. Their testimony totally discredits the report Public Safety Director Frank Straub and IMPD Chief Paul Ciesielski issued to support their demotion of the three officers and other actions taken in the wake of the incident. It is so patently clear Straub and Ciesielski set out to scapegoat these three officers, as well as three other IMPD officers who were mistakenly demoted in the rush to judgment to lay blame before the two admitted the errors of their ways and reinstated them to their former positions. Councilor Angela Mansfield hit the nail on the head when she made the point the issue here was the failing of a single officer, David Bisard. What transpired in the aftermath of that single officer's failing was a firing squad response by Straub and Ciesielski to satisfy public outrage upon learning Bisard was found to be seriously intoxicated as a result of a blood draw taken while he was being treated at Methodist Occupational Clinic for the minor injuries he sustained.

What the testimony of Hicks and Pierce made abundantly clear was Ciesielski had one primary concern on that fateful day: What needed to be done to help restore the perception of no confidence in Straub by IMPD leadership and the rank-and-file? These three high-ranking officers received the same urgent page Ciesielski received about the Bisard crash. These three men saw it is a high priority to immediately stop what they were doing and go to the scene to assess the situation. They didn't arrive until nearly 45 minutes after the crash occurred. The victims had already been transported to the hospital and the scene had become a recovery scene, not an emergency response scene. Their careful recitation of the facts revealed absolutely no violation of department policy or procedure as to how that fatal accident scene was handled. It is true they didn't observe Bisard to be drunk, but neither did any of the other police on the scene, emergency workers, or even the doctor who treated Bisard at the clinic. Despite multiple communications to Ciesielski about the Bisard crash scene, the Chief had exhibited no interest in learning more; he only wanted to make sure Hicks and Pierce returned in time for their 1:00 meeting to discuss the Straub image problem. Even after they arrived at his office and mentioned the seriousness of the situation, he asked no questions about the incident. Again, he was totally focused on restoring Straub's public image.

The three officers' testimony highlighted the fact that there were 4 separate reports upon which the Bisard report released by IMPD to the public was based. To this date, IMPD has refused to release any of those separate reports, which the three men contend would support their testimony about their response upon arriving at the Bisard accident scene, remaining there for about 30 minutes and then returning to IMPD headquarters because Ciesielski insisted upon them not being late for the meeting he had scheduled before learning about the Bisard crash. If you step back and look at how Ciesielski and Straub scapegoated these three men and attempted to scapegoat three other officers, you can understand why there is absolutely no confidence in either of the men's leadership among the rank-and-file officers.