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Suspended IMPD cop Bisard to fight DUI charges

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An attorney for Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer David Bisard will ask a judge to dismiss the new drunken-driving charges filed against his client by the end of the month.

A judge entered a plea of not guilty on Bisard’s behalf Friday.

Bisard, who will remain suspended without pay until his trial is over, is accused of being drunk on Aug. 6 when he drove his squad car into three motorcyclists, killing one and injuring the other two.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry re-filed six drunken-driving charges against Bisard on Wednesday.

Former prosecutor Carl Brizzi had dropped those charges last August, only days after they were filed, because he said a blood test that shows Bisard was drunk was improperly administered and could not be used in court.

Attorney John Kautzman, who represents Bisard, has said Brizzi was right to drop the charges, and he told Marion Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins during Friday’s hearing that he will file a motion to dismiss the new charges by Jan. 31.

The fate of the charges will hinge on whether Hawkins believes the blood test was properly taken and would be admissible as evidence in court.

The blood test shows Bisard had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 two hours after the crash, more than twice the level at which an Indiana driver is considered drunk. The debate over the test stems from a part of Indiana law that lists who’s qualified to draw blood.

Hawkins said he expects appeals over his decision, which could stall the case before it goes to trial.

Bisard’s hearing Friday afternoon became tedious as attorneys and the judge tried to sort out what motions from the original case would be pertinent to the new case.

“I think we’re kind of in uncharted waters here,” Hawkins told the attorneys.

Kautzman still is seeking a change of venue, and Hawkins told him to find a county to where the case could move or where a different jury pool could be tapped.

Hawkins also allowed Bisard’s $10,000 bond from the previous case to be transferred to the new case.

Bisard won’t have to spend additional time in jail because of the new charges, but if convicted, he could face years — and possibly decades — in prison.

Family and friends of the three victims hope the drunken-driving charges, which are some of Bisard’s most serious, will stick.

A group of motorcycle enthusiasts who knew the victims came to court Friday to show their support. Dennis Graham, Greenfield, said the group would continue to follow the case, even if it moves to a different county.

“It’s kind of a family clan thing.”

Call her at (317) 444-2751.

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