Indiana cop accused in fatal drunk-driving crash arrested again

An Indianapolis police officer who faces drunk-driving charges for allegedly crashing into two motorcycles with his patrol car in 2010, killing one rider, has been arrested again on suspicion of drunk driving.

Despite the earlier crash, which also injured two people, David M. Bisard’s driver’s license was still valid due to irregularities surrounding his 2010 arrest and a quirk in state law. The case was originally thrown out over allegations that the bloodwork -- which showed his blood-alcohol content to be 0.19, more than twice the legal limit -- was handled incorrectly.

An appellate court later overruled that claim after prosecutors refiled seven felony charges against him, including reckless homicide.

The uproar spurred legislators to change Indiana’s laws on drunk-driving tests and became so great that a judge moved his trial out of Indianapolis for fear that Bisard wouldn’t get an unbiased jury.

Bisard, 39, is suspended from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

On Saturday, Bisard was arrested again on suspicion of drunk driving after running his truck into a speed-limit sign, a guardrail and a power pole in Lawrence, Ind.

“I’ve been drinking since noon, and I’m not going to say I’ve had two like everyone else does,” Bisard told a police officer who arrived on the scene, after at first denying that he had been drinking, according to an arrest report obtained by WISH-TV. “I know you know who I am. I messed up today. If you guys can cut me a break, I promise I will never drink again.”

Bisard’s blood-alcohol content registered 0.17 after a Breathalyzer test at the scene, according to the arrest report -- slightly lower than in 2010 but still twice the legal limit.

After learning about the new crash, the mother of the motorcyclist killed in 2010 told WISH-TV, “I am just thankful that nobody was hurt, nobody was killed, that the only damage was property damage.”

Mary Wells, mother of Eric Wells, continued: “But my first words out of my mouth was, ‘Oh my God,’ because it’s like, we have been trying to get this man’s license suspended from the get-go.”

As of Sunday, Bisard was being held in the Marion County jail on a $25,000 bond on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. A court appearance was set for Wednesday morning.

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