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Rising in defense of a fellow officer on the Youngstown Police Department
TweetEDITOR:
These last few weeks have been so disturbing on so many levels it is difficult to know where to begin. I could have remained silent and just ignored the misrepresentations, the cruel comments and just general disregard for simple empathy. But Rob Deichman cannot speak for himself, and someone must.
I was D/S Rob Deichman’s partner in the Accident Investigation Unit, and I was his friend. I am disgusted at some of the things written on web pages and disappointed in the media coverage on this tragic event. It was said not to judge a man by the way he died but by the way he lived. It is appalling that this good man is not being judged by his 40 years but by the way he spent his last 6 hours. And who are we to judge anyway?
I have always gotten so irritated that comments are made that police are treated differently and that we somehow put ourselves in a different category, but yet when anything happens, the media labels us as “cop” or “Law Enforcement”. I have never seen the headlines read “GM worker under the influence” or “Accountant dies in alcohol related crash”. I won’t go into specifics out of respect, but I have investigated many fatal and serious injury crashes and my door is not being knocked down to know the details of these crashes.
Let me set the record straight, Rob would not have gone on any calls that evening. We were partners and I would have taken the call. In fact, I was called out that night to find out it was my friend. On occasion we do cover for each other due to unforeseen circumstances and personal plans. It is difficult to be on call at all times and still have a normal life. Rob had taken calls for me and I returned the favor; that is what partners do.
Yes, Rob was driving a city vehicle, that was his infraction. Due to a personal situation he did not have access to another vehicle. He did take the car to meet friends and left the car in the parking lot. He was not driving around from bar to bar as has been suggested.
This most recent commentary on this tragedy was just the last straw. Now Rob’s friends are being blamed as well as the chief. Five beers in five hours would not have had Rob stumbling across the floor. Let’s not forget that the limit has been lowered over the years. This is utterly ridiculous to suggest that BCI needs to investigate. What should they be investigating? Nothing is being hidden and this is precisely why the State Patrol conducted the investigation. I have investigated many fatal crashes; I am a certified Reconstructionist and more than capable of investigating this crash. But it is a fact that the chief and I thought it better to have an outside agency lead this investigation. Rob was my partner and friend and I didn’t want to miss anything nor did I want anyone to suggest that things were amiss or covered up.
I am a bit disappointed that the Patrol felt it necessary to release information in bits and pieces. I feel the report should have been released when it was totally complete; that is what I do and would have done. I am not pressured to release parts of reports when it involves “Joe Citizen” so why should this be different? Oh I forgot, it involved a “cop”. By releasing it in this manner, it has only led to repeated articles and news reports. I think this is unfair to his memory and cruel to his grieving family.
He is in no way the person that he is being portrayed as in the media. Those who knew him miss him and I just hope his daughters will know what a good guy he was on this earth, who touched a lot of lives. Rest in peace, my friend.
PATRICIA GARCAR, Detective/sergeant
Youngstown Police Department
Comments
Nice article! I'm so glad that you spoke for your partner. You're a great human being and friend.
Nope, the way he is being portrayed in the media is in fact correct. He was a "cop" and therefore should be held to a higher standard than "accoutants" and "GM Workers".
He also was more intoxicated than the the "old" limit (.1)by 50% which indicates he had MORE than 5 beers in 5 hours.
Was this his first time driving drunk? Highly doubtful. Most drunk drivers get caught maybe 1 out of 100 or less times driving drunk.
What if there were 2 calls that evening? Would he have gone to the second one? Anyone "on call" should always be ready to go to a call and should not be drunk.
I can understand the blue code that exist although I think it hurts LE within the community because it prevents other LE from speaking out (the truth) about the corruption and misdeeds. It makes them all appear corrupt when the truth is they aren't.
I have to agree with apollo. Every police department in the country wants the people of their community to respect the police in their department. They are continually complaining that they do not get the respect or approval from the community. Tell me how they are supposed to do this when they are doing "exactly" what they are supposed to be stopping. I do have simpathy for his family and friends. We are not critizing him as a father, husband, uncle, etc. What the "community" has an issue with, is the way he died. He died doing what he was hired to prevent, what he investigated on a daily basis. When he was supposed to be upholding the law instead he broke the law and paid the ultimate price.
Detective,
You are letting emotions get in the way of judgement. You loss is tragic. But Sgt. Deichman by his actions, stole his daughters' father from them.
The question I have, that may never be answered, how many times in the past has you partner done what he did that night, and not got caught.
He abused the system. He was getting paid extra to be on call, but he was no where near the condition he needed to be in to respond. His blood alcohol level was 0.158. Almost twice the legal limit now, and higher than the .1 that it used to be.
The BCI was called in to investigate if the actions of this officer is common practice for the men/women in blue of Youngstown.
I know he was an adult, and we all need to be held accountable for our actions. And I was not at the parties he attended. But, did the other officers there know he was on duty? One must have because he dropped him off at his duty car after the party. Did they encourage/discourage him from drinking? Did any offer to call a cab/drive him home?
Here is the difference between a police officer and an accountant or a GM worker: The public pays the salary of the police officer. We as tax payers have a right to know when our tax dollars are not being spent appropriately. When Deichman takes a bonus from the tax payers, but does not live up to his end of the bargain, then we have a right to know about it.
Lastly, had Deichman followed the rules. Not gone out and got drunk. Had he been sober and fit for duty like he was supposed to be, we would not be having this discussion today.
It could be that his live was meant to serve as a warning to others.
One more thing.
I think YPD needs to conduct a training session on the symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol. I think one of the first required participants should be Patrolman Brad Ditullio, the officer who dropped Deichman off after they had been out boozing.
Sergeant Garcar,
I am sorry about your loss, but your letter troubles me on many levels. First of all, you aren't fooling anybody by claiming he only had five beers in five hours. The State of Wisconsin has a handy BAC calculator, and for a 180 lb male that level of drinking would have given him a BAC of about .047. His consumption would have had to have been more like 10 beers over that 5 hours. I am sure, as a police officer, you have a good idea as to how many beers it would take to get him to a BAC of .158, and you have a good idea as to the indications that someone is too intoxicated to drive. His friends should take some blame. I am offended that you are misreprsenting his level of drinking, and it scares me that you are claiming his fellow officers couldn't recognize that a man with a BAC of .158 is too drunk to drive.
Second, you seem to be condoning his use of alcohol while on call. I understand that partners have loyalty, and there is the thin blue line that is not crossed, but come on? I don't care if you would have taken the call or not. Any professional knows better than to get drunk while on call (and breaking department regulations in addition).
Third, when you mentioned how you sometimes cover for each other due to "personal plans," you implied that this kind of thing has happened before. There SHOULD be an investigation if this type of thing is occuring. Many professions have on-call, and there is no drinking during this time. Period. And police should be no different.
The YPD has been criticized for this incident, and rightly so. Maybe stricter regulations and more self-policing will develop form this tragedy. However, with this letter you are not improving the YPD's image one bit.