EPD merit commission will not terminate officers in violent arrest case
EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - Evansville's Police Merit Commission have reached a verdict on the fate of three EPD officers.
Officers Nick Henderson and Mark Decamps will not be terminated, but their suspensions will be upheld.
They also decided Sgt. Kyle Kassel will not be demoted and will be reinstated with full pay.
Henderson will be on a 21-day suspension. The commission decided to reduce Decamp's suspension to seven days.
The commission delayed hearings for Officer Marcus Craig, over concerns that he would lose his disability pension.
[PREVIOUS: Fate of 3 officers in excessive force case to be decided Thursday]
This all started in October, with the violent arrest of 36-year-old Mark Healy.
Police Chief Billy Bolin released body cam video that shows Officers Craig, Decamps, and Henderson arresting Healy. Bolin says the video doesn't match up with their written report.
[RELATED: Sentencing for Mark Healy pushed back]
Bolin took the stand and said what happened that night "erodes public trust," and that recommending termination for the officers was a hard decision.
"The public needs to know we're doing the right thing," said Bolin.
City Attorney Keith Vonderahe argued this is all about whether or not the rules and regulations of the police department were violated.
The attorney for Officer Henderson told the merit commission that Henderson "has been consistent but not believed" regarding the night of the arrest.
According to his attorney, Henderson just celebrated his 25-year anniversary with EPD and the record shows he's an asset to the department.
The attorney for Officer Decamps said that Officer Craig worked on the affidavit while Decamps was not present. Decamps admitted he "skimmed over" the affidavit before signing it. He later said it had been a busy and stressful night and admitted he should have read over the affidavit thoroughly.
Decamps said he thought his body cam was working and stood back to film the arrest clearly, because he had an issue with the language being used.
Sgt. Kassel's attorney, Charlie Berger, told the merit commission that Kassel did nothing wrong.
Kassel told the merit commission he watched the body cam video from that night once and sent an internal email, which stated force was used within guidelines.
He said at that time no one with EPD argued with his conclusion from that night.
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