DEC 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 12

NOT SO BRIGHT AWARD
lig ht bul b award
TWO DRUNK COPS
One in Indiana, One in Florida, Two Wrecked Patrol Cars.
Doug Rutoskey
Well as we close out the year
and present the final Lightbulb
award, we find not one, but two
candidates nominated for the
prize.
It seems two officers, both
off-duty in two separate cities
in different states, saw fit to get
drunk and then go drive their
patrol cars which both ended in
crashes.
Both officers were charged
with operating a vehicle while
intoxicated and leaving the scene
of an accident
FOX 59 reported that off-duty
Stinesville (Ind.) Police Department
reserve officer Doug Rutoskey,
36, was arrested after his
marked patrol car rear-ended
another vehicle on the south side
of Indianapolis. Rutoskey left the
scene following the crash, but
somehow his vehicle continued
on without him, and came to a
stop after hitting a construction
barrier. Rutoskey was arrested
on preliminary charges of operating
a vehicle while intoxicated
and leaving the scene of an
accident.
The incident happened around
1:20 a.m. on Sunday Nov. 20th,
near Southport Road and State
Road 37. According to witnesses,
a police cruiser rear-ended their
car and then took off. IMPD confirmed
a fully marked patrol vehicle
was involved in the crash.
Photos from the aftermath of
the crash showed a police car
with a smashed front end.
The police report described the
incident as a “hit-and-run crash
involving [an] unknown agency
police vehicle.”
Further south, in the sunny
state of Florida, off-duty Miami-Dade
officer Leopold Louis,
42, was also arrested after he
crashed his marked patrol car
into an unoccupied vehicle while
driving drunk according to local
TX station, Local 10 News .
Louis was arrested in Hollywood
early Sunday morning,
November 21st after police said
he was drunk behind the wheel
of a marked patrol car.
Officer Leopold Louis, 42, on
Leopold Louis
the force since 2017, was suspended
with pay, according to
Miami-Dade PD.
According to the arrest report,
Louis was involved in a hit-andrun
crash at North 20th Avenue
and Polk Street and officers later
located him driving his patrol
car on Federal Highway.
In the report, Hollywood police
Officer Carlos Diaz wrote that
Louis smelled of alcohol, had
watery, bloodshot eyes and was
unable to maintain his balance.
Louis said he did not realize
he had been involved in a crash;
Diaz wrote.
“(Louis) continued to state his
friend in the marked unit was
waiting on him,” Diaz wrote.
“The marked unit in the area was
his.”
Louis failed a battery of field
sobriety tests and was taken into
custody according to the report.
He later consented to a breathalyzer
test and had a blood-alcohol
content of .223%, nearly
three times the legal limit, it
states.
He faces charges of first-offense
drunken driving, DUI with
property damage and leaving the
scene of a crash with an unattended
vehicle or property.
“This officer placed the public
in danger in the same vehicle
that the community has entrusted
as a symbol of protection,”
MDPD Director Alfredo “Freddy”
Ramirez said in a statement to
Local 10 News. “I will not tolerate
any representative of the Miami-Dade
Police Department to
jeopardize the community’s trust.
We will allow the Hollywood
Police Department to conduct
their investigation with complete
transparency and have complete
faith in the judicial process.”
Louis was being held in the
Broward Main Jail.
Louis had nothing to say to
Local 10 News after he bonded
out Monday afternoon. I’m sure
he didn’t.
So, there you have it. The final
Light Bulb Awards of 2022 given
to two morons who thought it
was OK to get drunk, get into
marked units and crash then.
Idiots. Have a wonderful Christmas
and Happy New Year and
guys, take an Uber when you get
drunk.
But whatever you do, don’t
shoot at each other inside
the Uber…oh wait, that’s next
months award. Stay safe my
friends.
114 The BLUES The BLUES 115