Board seeks probe into police allegations
Sheriff defends department against alleged unsafe use of county vehicles
Lake County Commissioners have sent a letter to Prosecutor Bernard Carter seeking an investigation into the alleged misuse of some of the county’s new police vehicles.
Commissioner Michael Repay, D-Hammond, confirmed a letter has been sent to the Lake County Prosecutor’s office after information surfaced regarding a variety of incidents that indicated sheriff ’s department vehicles allegedly were misused.
“When accusations of misuse of county property that is owned by the by the Board of Commissioners it is of great concern to us. We are in the process of investigating all claims of improper use of county property,” Repay said.
The alleged incidents involve the recently acquired Dodge Challenger Hellcats and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Performance Trackhawk SUVs.
Alleged incidents under investigation include high-speed chases in both East Chicago and Crown Point, where the county vehicles allegedly were subject of the pursuit.
According to an information report from the Crown Point Police released Sept. 29, its officers were involved in a traffic stop at about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in the 9000 block of Taft Street when the officers saw a black SUV traveling northbound on Main Street “at what appeared to be at a speed well above the 45 mph posted limit.”
The SUV continued at this speed onto Taft Street in Merrillville, passing the stopped officers. In seeing the speeding violation, officers attempted to catch up to curb the vehicle, according to the report.
The report continues the SUV was seen making a right hand turn onto U.S. 30 now traveling eastbound. As officers were catching up to the vehicle, the driver activated emergency red and blue police lights, giving notice that it was an unmarked police car. In seeing the lights, officers disregarded their actions any further.
“It is unknown who the driver of the squad car was or the specific nature of any police call as no assistance was requested,” according to the report.
In another alleged incident, the Post-Tribune has reviewed Face
book video that shows a sheriff’s vehicle speeding on a residential street and running through a stop sign in East Chicago with no sirens or lights activated. A second police squad following the first vehicle, but stopped at the stop sign.
In a statement from Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez, he said the department has no information of any official investigation.
Regarding the pursuits in Crown Point and East Chicago, Martinez said there are several situations when officers are working special enforcement operations where it is common for officers to be in a hurry to get from point A to point B, but may not necessarily use lights and sirens.
“There have been many instances when I, myself, have drawn the attention of police officers from other agencies while I was driving a high-performance vehicle,” Martinez said.
“These vehicles, by their very nature, will tend to attract more attention than, for example, a Crown Victoria. Officers from other agencies following any of our unmarked vehicles may not be aware of our intention or to which incident we may be responding,” Martinez said.
“The high-performance vehicles we purchased have been quite effective in helping to bridge the gap between our agency and the communities we serve. I am aware of edited cellphone video that has been circulating in social media which shows bystanders recording images of our two vehicles and cheering us on as we drove through a neighborhood,” Martinez said in the statement.
“We had just made a traffic stop down the street and the voices on the video were also rallying cries acknowledging that we were successful in stopping a suspect,” he continued.
“What the video doesn’t show is that we stopped and allowed bystanders to take a closer look at the vehicles while we explained their purpose and capabilities,” he continued.
Martinez said the people who watched and cheered “obviously did so because they recognize the popularity and capabilities of these vehicles. They are packed with features which can meet the tactical demands of fighting crime on our streets in an age of rapidly increasing automotive and technological advancement.”
“These types of vehicles are simply necessary to keep up when pursuing suspected criminals who often steal high-performance vehicles,” Martinez said.