INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A vial of blood from an Indianapolis police officer accused of causing a fatal crash while driving drunk should be tested in Indianapolis instead of Texas, a judge ruled Thursday.
Prosecutors and Officer David Bisard's defense attorney, John Kautzman, filed a flurry of motions in recent weeks over the proposed testing at a private, independent laboratory in Texas, arguing over who could be present for the tests and which side would bear the associated costs. Marion Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins settled the matter by ordering the test performed at the Marion County Crime Lab. Protocols there allow for the presence of attorneys, experts and others.
"It might get crowded in the crime lab, but it's not (in) the state of Texas," Hawkins said from the bench.
At issue is a crucial second vial of Bisard's blood that was mishandled by police evidence technicians. The first vial was determined to be inadmissible in court as evidence of drunken driving because the blood was not drawn according to procedures specified in Indiana's criminal code. That blood showed he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19 percent, or more than twice the legal limit, when his cruiser crashed into two motorcycles stopped at an Indianapolis traffic light on Aug. 6, 2010. The crash killed 30-year-old Eric Wells and injured two other people.
Even if the second blood test shows Bisard was legally intoxicated, it's not clear yet whether it can be used as evidence of drunken driving. That matter is pending before the Indiana Court of Appeals.
The case has barely nudged forward in the five weeks since it appeared tests on the second vial would be performed at the Texas laboratory. Now DNA tests to establish the blood in the second vial is Bisard's will take several weeks. Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson told Hawkins the still state needs to find a toxicologist before the blood can be tested for alcohol content.
Hawkins noted he has presided over arguments over the second vial for months.
"I'm a little bit exasperated," he said. He expressed the hope that tests could be completed "before winter is fully upon us."
Robinson said afterward, "We wanted the fairest test possible, for the defense and for us."
Kautzman said he thought Hawkins' solution was "reasonable."
Hawkins set the next hearing in the case for Oct. 11, telling the attorneys, "I want to know what you have resolved."