Trooper in deadly Montgomery County shooting identified, but questions remain

[rhino]

It happens more than you think it does.

Maybe, but I think you're underestimating how bad it could be.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

Maybe, but I think you're underestimating how bad it could be.

I respectfully disagree.

 

[hopper68]

And my boss calls me paranoid for having a dash camera. It is much easier than trying to whip out my cellphone (flip-phone) and try to record what is going on.

 

[KG1]

Did they make a complaint (or several) to ISP or just complain about him on FB?

You mean it doesn't count if you file a complaint to FB?

 

[edporch]

More Facebook posts, for what they’re worth. Anecdotes of run-ins with this officer. Some people posted pictures of their tickets from him, which were all dumb traffic violations.

Edited out curse words.

IF (and the keyword is IF...) this stuff some people are saying about their interaction with this trooper is true, he is poison to the department and needs to be fired.

Effective law enforcement needs as much trust and cooperation from the general public as they can get.
And it doesn't take many bad apples to ruin an entire department's reputation.

 

[HoughMade]

Sure, I don't know if Indy will bury it or what the politics is with them and State po-po, but State Police called the widow and told the widow that Rightsell was being LifeLine'd to Brownsburg. The widow drove there.

Rightsell (eventually) went to Crawfordsville. So the widow had to drive to Brownsburg and then back to C-ville.

People won't be happy once this drops.

Is it possible that they thought he was going to be flown, but the helicopter wasn’t available or some other circumstances kept it from happening outside the control of the ISP? Granted, they should tell her that as soon as they knew.

 

[Beowulf]

He only killed one person. One too many, but it wasn't "people." Please list "massive amounts of corruption and tampering of evidence" and the names/positions of those that committed it. Also, the Legislature is the entity that allowed him to be released early, not the police.

Well, to start with, IMPD Sergeant Dawn Higgins and former Public Safety Deputy Director Ellen Corcella secretly tape recorded two conversations with lead Prosecutor Denise Robinson talking about trial strategy and evidence.

Also, from the same article:

Detective Kevin Wethington admitted Corcella, who was the number two in command under then-Public Safety Director Frank Straub, told him to go to IMPD’s internal affairs unit secretly one night to take the Bisard investigation files.
He said that Straub later told him to secretly download the emails of then-Police Chief Paul Ciesielski to find out what the chief knew about the Bisard investigation.
Bisard’s blood then sat unrefrigerated in an IMPD property room for five months.

So, you are saying secretly taping conversations with the prosecutor running the case and sneaking into Internal affairs to steal the investigation files is completely above board and normal operating procedure?

Also, two botched blood draws and blood evidence left in an unrefridgerated property room? Either IMPD is ridiculously incompetent (which I don't think is the case) or someone was try to make sure there was no evidence to use against Bisard.

During the trial, Maj. Greg Bieberich was sitting in the court room, emailing summaries of testimony of IMPD officers and employees to Chief Hite.

So you sure you want to go on defending IMPD's actions on the Bisard case? A case that has literally become synonymous with corruption and cost the sitting Chief of Police his job due to the scandal? Wow, you sure picked a really weird hill to die on.

But, you are right about one thing. Bisard "only" killed 1 person, Eric Wells. Two others were "merely" sent to the hospital with severe injuries. So, yeah. That changes everything.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

Well, to start with, IMPD Sergeant Dawn Higgins and former Public Safety Deputy Director Ellen Corcella secretly tape recorded two conversations with lead Prosecutor Denise Robinson talking about trial strategy and evidence.

Also, from the same article:

Detective Kevin Wethington admitted Corcella, who was the number two in command under then-Public Safety Director Frank Straub, told him to go to IMPD’s internal affairs unit secretly one night to take the Bisard investigation files.
He said that Straub later told him to secretly download the emails of then-Police Chief Paul Ciesielski to find out what the chief knew about the Bisard investigation.
Bisard’s blood then sat unrefrigerated in an IMPD property room for five months.

So, you are saying secretly taping conversations with the prosecutor running the case and sneaking into Internal affairs to steal the investigation files is completely above board and normal operating procedure?

Also, two botched blood draws and blood evidence left in an unrefridgerated property room? Either IMPD is ridiculously incompetent (which I don't think is the case) or someone was try to make sure there was no evidence to use against Bisard.

During the trial, Maj. Greg Bieberich was sitting in the court room, emailing summaries of testimony of IMPD officers and employees to Chief Hite.

So you sure you want to go on defending IMPD's actions on the Bisard case? A case that has literally become synonymous with corruption and cost the sitting Chief of Police his job due to the scandal? Wow, you sure picked a really weird hill to die on.

But, you are right about one thing. Bisard "only" killed 1 person, Eric Wells. Two others were "merely" sent to the hospital with severe injuries. So, yeah. That changes everything.

I'm not dying on any hill by defending their actions, because I am by no means defending their actions. I asked for the names and you provided them. But that was a select, small group of individuals and not the whole department. Every name you put is synonymous with turd, and thankfully all but one are no longer with the department/city.

 

[tbhausen]

Hypothetically speaking (of course I’m being hypothetical), do you suppose if this trooper conducted himself as alleged, having a body or dash cam running might have altered his behavior in a way that could possibly have saved a man’s life?

 

[Foxxwoof]

Hypothetically speaking (of course I’m being hypothetical), do you suppose if this trooper conducted himself as alleged, having a body or dash cam running might have altered his behavior in a way that could possibly have saved a man’s life?

You mean to say that if you know someone is watching, may judge your actions, and it doesn't come down to "I said", "he/she said", that your decision making process might be different. It's a novel idea. That being said, when it comes to the stress of a "life or death" situation though, that thought process may not even enter into the equation. But I think in general interactions your assertion may be true.

I'll probably get blasted for saying this but... That said, I saw someone refer to this incident as a "fear biter" situation, and I'm inclined to agree it does look like one. Inexperienced rookie officer sees firearm on citizen's working on car hip, get's nervous and scared, draws down on said citizen, starts barking orders at him out of fear, moment citizen moves a muscle, nervous rookie officer with finger on trigger lets round fly. That said also I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure, but that scenario makes way more sense than. Friendly officer pulls up to lend assistance, man working on car decides I don't like cops so I'm going to reach for my gun and shoot you officer friendly, officer outdraws citizen who's gun never clears the holster and shoots him in face.

What in the scenario of a man working under the hood of a car on the side of the road, even makes it necessary for the officer to need to upholster his weapon and then need to bark orders at man working on car in the first place? Just seeing a firearm on a persons hip should not be the determining factor here, when there are millions of legally carried firearms by citizens in this country. The officer should see and interact with literally dozens of legally armed citizens every day. I like many of you carry all the time, and if an officer at the Circle K happens to see a firearm on my hip when I'm reaching for a Coke in the cooler, is that justification enough for him to draw down on me in the middle of the convenience store? What if I'm changing a flat on the side of the road? I mean, I might even have a tire iron in my hand too, that's two weapons right? It's the same scenario as Rightsell, does the officer automatically assume person with firearm in waist taking tire off of car is stealing rims, must draw firearm and confront?

This is such a big deal because the picture the ISP has painted here just doesn't make any logical sense. And then compound that with fact that the lied about administering first aid and where they took him and it doesn't look very forthright in the ISP's favor here.

 

[tbhausen]

That’s pretty much exactly what I meant to say. IF this guy’s gun developed a habit of being out of its holster a bit earlier/more often than it should have been, perhaps some real accountability (code language for dash and/or body camera) MAY have nipped that little habit in the bud before someone ended up dead.

 

[Foxxwoof]

If the other Facebook accounts are to be believed, then I would argue that, yes you are probably correct in that assertion.

 

[Coach]

Sure, I don't know if Indy will bury it or what the politics is with them and State po-po, but State Police called the widow and told the widow that Rightsell was being LifeLine'd to Brownsburg. The widow drove there.

Rightsell (eventually) went to Crawfordsville. So the widow had to drive to Brownsburg and then back to C-ville.

People won't be happy once this drops.

Thanks. That is an unacceptable level of communication.

One article I read said pronounced dead at Crawfordsville, which made me think he arrived to the hospital dead. Hoping for more information on that.

 

[churchmouse]

Thanks. That is an unacceptable level of communication.

One article I read said pronounced dead at Crawfordsville, which made me think he arrived to the hospital dead. Hoping for more information on that.

It would seem that any and all communications by them was botched.

 

[Foxxwoof]

Thanks. That is an unacceptable level of communication.

One article I read said pronounced dead at Crawfordsville, which made me think he arrived to the hospital dead. Hoping for more information on that.

Here at work today we were talking about this again this morning. (I work in Crawfordsville). And the hearsay going around (came from two separate people btw), is that Rightsell told the nurses at Crawfordsville hospital a different account of what happened. That he had hands up, was ordered to unholster, and when he started to do so was shot. (That would at least partly corroborate the other account I heard that a motorist driving by saw him with hands in the air before hearing 4 shots).

If there is any validity to that, that would indicate that he was alive when he made it there at the very least. Again all hearsay, but big topic of discussion around here the last few days.

 

[Mossberg84]

I live by Crawfordsville Hospital and can hear whenever a lifeline helicopter circles in and lands at the hospital. I heard a helicopter that evening, dont know if it was a lifeline helicopter being called in for this incident or something else. Of course lifeline could of been called in to transport from the hospital, but Rightsell was pronounced dead before the helicopter got there?

 

[Coach]

Here at work today we were talking about this again this morning. (I work in Crawfordsville). And the hearsay going around (came from two separate people btw), is that Rightsell told the nurses at Crawfordsville hospital a different account of what happened. That he had hands up, was ordered to unholster, and when he started to do so was shot. (That would at least partly corroborate the other account I heard that a motorist driving by saw him with hands in the air before hearing 4 shots).

If there is any validity to that, that would indicate that he was alive when he made it there at the very least. Again all hearsay, but big topic of discussion around here the last few days.

If this is true he was still alive at the hospital.

 

[Coach]

It seems like we could use a little more media pressure for facts on this one, but are unlikely to get it since the body count was only 1 dead.

 

[KG1]

Here at work today we were talking about this again this morning. (I work in Crawfordsville). And the hearsay going around (came from two separate people btw), is that Rightsell told the nurses at Crawfordsville hospital a different account of what happened. That he had hands up, was ordered to unholster, and when he started to do so was shot. (That would at least partly corroborate the other account I heard that a motorist driving by saw him with hands in the air before hearing 4 shots).

If there is any validity to that, that would indicate that he was alive when he made it there at the very least. Again all hearsay, but big topic of discussion around here the last few days.

That would be messed up if true and I don’t recall ever hearing about an instance of a LEO giving a command for someone to unholster their own firearm.

 

[Foxxwoof]

That would be messed up if true and I don’t recall ever hearing about an instance of a LEO giving a command for someone to unholster their own firearm.

Thats why I said hearsay. Take it with a grain of salt.