ISP Review Complete In WPD Chief IncidentWarsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer authorized the release this morning of a Warsaw Police Department report by Chief Scott Whitaker on a Jan. 25 incident that was reviewed by the Indiana State Police.
On Friday, Thallemer asked the Indiana State Police to review the incident to determine if an investigation was warranted. The mayor did not receive any formal complaint about the incident, but there was some concern in the community about Whitaker’s treatment of Michael Brander, a Warsaw resident involved in the incident.
ISP has concluded its review of the incident and has not yet issued a statement about its findings. But ISP indicated to Thallemer that the review was complete and no further action or investigation was warranted.
The incident report states that at about 6:30 p.m. Jan. 25, Whitaker was driving east on CR 200S near fire station No. 3 when a passenger vehicle came into his lane of travel, forcing him partially off the road and nearly hitting him head-on. Whitaker then saw the vehicle in his rearview mirror travel back to the left side of the road. Whitaker turned his vehicle around and began to follow the westbound vehicle on CR 200S.
Whitaker was off-duty when the incident occurred.
The driver appeared to be impaired as the vehicle continued to drive back and forth, using the entire road as it traveled, the report states.
The vehicle then pulled into a driveway of a residence. It parked at the end of the drive, leaving its lights on. Whitaker stopped his vehicle and continued to wait and see the actions of the driver. After sitting for about two minutes, the vehicle backed up and drove south back toward CR 200S, where Whitaker was positioned.
Whitaker continued to follow the vehicle.
The vehicle came close to hitting two other vehicles, the report states. The vehicle then slowed to 3 to 5 mph for a period before attempting to turn left. The vehicle initially traveled off the road before recovering and returning to the road.
The vehicle eventually parked in a drive on Chickadee Lane, sitting parked and with the lights on.
As Whitaker sat in his vehicle with the lights out, he saw a silhouette of a person exit the vehicle, but the vehicle’s lights were still on.
His report states, “From my experience, it is not uncommon for an intoxicated or impaired driver to attempt to throw off a law enforcement officer or concerned citizen so they would no longer be followed.”
He continued waiting for the arrival of an on-duty officer.
A second person exited the residence.
“Given the unknown circumstances, and what appeared to be an extremely impaired individual, I was concerned for the safety of the resident(s),” Whitaker’s report states.
He drove his vehicle up to the residence and into the driveway, partially behind the suspect vehicle. Whitaker exited his vehicle, noticed the suspect vehicle was still running and saw an older man – later identified as Michael C. Brander, 74 – walking toward the driver’s side of the vehicle. Brander attempted to access the driver’s side front door, the report states.
“I immediately grasped him from behind, by his coat on both shoulders, and attempted to maneuver him slightly in front of the driver’s door, near the hood area. Upon doing so, Mr. Brander’s legs gave out and he dropped to his knees. I was able to assist him to the ground, as I was still holding his shoulders,” the report states.
Whitaker identified himself as a Warsaw police officer and asked Brander to keep his hands on the car hood and to stay in that position as on-duty police would be on the scene shortly.
Whitaker then asked the second person – later identified as Kathleen M. Brander, 72 – if she knew who the man was and she said it was her husband. Whitaker then explained his observations of Michael’s driving and that he had nearly hit him head-on. Kathleen then told Whitaker she had been driving and not her husband.
WPD Officer Daniel Clemens and Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy Travis Mickem then arrived.
Whitaker asked Kathleen why she was trying to cover for her husband and that her actions could lead to someone being harmed or killed with his driving behavior. She restated that she was the driver, not Michael, and accurately described where she had been driving. She told Whitaker she had difficulty driving in the dark and could not find her road to turn onto. She was told not to drive at night again as her driving would get someone hurt. The report states Kathleen showed no signs of impairment while Whitaker was talking with her.
Clemens met with Kathleen and also determined she was not impaired. After Whitaker told Michael that his wife had almost hit him head-on, Michael “said something to the effect of ‘he wouldn’t doubt it,’” the report states.
Whitaker explained to the couple why he stopped Michael from getting into the vehicle, and that he thought Michael had been the driver. The couple indicated Michael came outside to pull the vehicle into the garage because Kathleen has trouble doing that.
The couple also said Kathleen normally would not drive at night, but she had mechanical problems with her vehicle while at Walmart which delayed her from returning home before dark.
No citations were issued for the noted driving violations.
