Prosecutor: Case against IMPD officer still strong - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The Marion County prosecutor says despite revelations this week that key evidence in the David Bisard case was mishandled, he still believes he has a strong case.

Indianapolis Metro Police Officer David Bisard has been charged with reckless homicide in an August 2010 crash that left Eric Wells dead and two others with life-changing injuries. Bisard is on unpaid leave pending suspension.

A vial of Bisard's blood was mishandled by police, possibly putting the case in jeopardy.

Prosecutor Terry Curry said he became furious when it was discovered a second vial of blood belonging to Bisard had been mishandled. But Curry says this is by no means a sign that Bisard is off the hook.

Prosecutors discovered a second sample gone from property room after winning a court motion to have it tested for DNA and alcohol levels.

"At the end of the day I don't think this is going to impact accomplishing what we want to accomplish," Curry said.

That's a conviction for reckless homicide.

Curry says the first vial has not been moved or compromised so they still have a strong case against Bisard regarding blood evidence.

Eyewitness News spoke with a media representative at the American Institute of Toxicology. Right now they are reserving comments about their work on the Bisard blood case out of respect for Eric Wells' family.

"It is still possible that that vial could be tested. We won't know until the lab looks at it," Curry said.

Bisard's blood alcohol level tested .19 after the crash. Bisard's attorneys argue there is no question from scene video nor responding supervisors about Bisard's sobriety, so the blood alcohol test is a mistake. The original DUI charges were thrown out because the blood was drawn at a clinic as opposed to a hospital by a nurse.

There are two blood vials in the Bisard case, which prosecutors argue is still a strong case.

"Clearly the question will be by being unrefrigerated from November to about a week ago, whether there is sufficient degradation to prohibit the possibility of a test," said Curry. "The first vial was not moved. It's still there. It was refrigerated the entire time and there is still sufficient blood in the first vial to conduct the test that we wanted done all along."

Bisard's attorney John Kautzman said in a statement, "There can be no doubt that this blood sample is tainted beyond repair and a test of the blood would produce an unreliable an unusable result."

Curry, who strongly disagrees with Kautzman's statement, believes the property room mishap is costing IMPD its reputation.

"It's just again another hit to the public perception of this whole case and the police department," said the prosecutor.

Curry is checking on the other blood vials moved from the property room with Bisard's. He suspects they involved closed cases. Prosecutors can probably count on motions again from Bisard's attorney to have his blood samples thrown out.

To stress the importance of refrigerating blood evidence, a number of studies show what happens when samples are allowed to get warm.

A study published in 1989 in the Journal of Forensic Sciences is often cited by defense attorneys trying to overturn blood evidence. Scientists found that human blood ferments when it's outside of the body and actually produces alcohol. The researchers say this fermentation can be stopped when a preservative is mixed with the blood and the blood is refrigerated.