Supports Rovenstine
June 12, 2017 at 7:15 p.m.
By -
I write in support of my friend and colleague Aaron Rovenstine.
I have worked with Aaron for a number of years when he was a sheriff’s deputy and later sheriff. He has always been professional and decent, and I have high regard for the men and women in the department. Most know that Aaron was indicted on multiple counts by a grand jury last year. His case ended with a plea to one charge before the jury was selected. The tragedy and disappointment of that case exposes the great and longstanding dysfunction between the sheriff’s department and the Warsaw Police Department and, I think, demands that there be a full and complete investigation of the Warsaw Police Department.
Basically, Aaron was accused of colluding with an inmate for favor (an alleged bribe which I do not believe occurred), and threatening an investigation of the Warsaw Police Department, which was investigating the inmate, and later, Aaron. At the beginning of the trial, during jury selection, I am told the deputy prosecutor handling the case (the appointed special prosecutor from Marshall County stepped down from active prosecution because of illness) discreetly offered to end the case with a plea to one charge of intimidation of a Warsaw detective. Aaron faced a very difficult decision and, on advice of counsel, pleaded guilty to intimidation with nine remaining counts dismissed. When a grand jury indicts someone on 10 counts and a deputy prosecutor offers to dismiss all but one count, the lowest level charge, that suggests to me that the case is weak or the prosecutors lost the will to proceed. From a practical standpoint, I understand why Aaron took the agreement but it leaves many saddened and perplexed, none more than Aaron and his family.
The special prosecutor re-emerged in the case at the time of sentencing and during a post sentencing press conference spoke of the 27 years Aaron and his father have been in office saying: “It is that atmosphere[sic] that culture that [sic] is problematic.” (WNDU.com May 24, 2017.) This statement begs the question? Was this, in part, political? Criminal cases should be pressed on the basis of specific facts and behaviors, not “problematic cultures.” Those are to be solved politically, not in the criminal courts.
Beyond all of the above, this case exposes and demands that the community now address the longtime systematic abuse of citizens’ civil rights by the Warsaw Police Department and one of its officers which looms behind this case. Citizens for years have been bullied, harassed, intimidated and their constitutional rights trampled by this officer and some others in the department. (Let me make clear most Warsaw Police Department officers are decent and committed public servants). It is a common theme within the county’s legal system to hear of and observe questionable and sometimes unconstitutional investigations, arrests and charges coming out of WPD. In fact, the department has a long history of unchecked abusiveness. When I served as prosecutor in the ‘90s I was the subject of all types of harassment: disciplinary complaints filed with the state Supreme Court; detectives traveling to Madison County, where I had served as special prosecutor, trying to dig up dirt on me; a uniformed officer caught stealing at least a dozen of my campaign signs; intense letters to the editor and press barrage; and the list goes on and on. Anyone who goes into politics knows it is bare-knuckled, but the behavior of some WPD officers over the years has put malice over community good and safety. I was able to defend myself, but beyond me there are countless individuals whose rights have been violated who have little power to defend themselves. I hope they now take the courage to speak up.
Some people talk of a time for healing within the community and the law enforcement agencies. That cannot happen until the abuse of police power at WPD is finally brought under control and officers who have broken the law and trampled the constitution are held accountable. Under our system of rule of law, enshrined in our Bill of Rights, we hire police to monitor us within set boundaries. They work for us to protect us and preserve our rights as citizens, not the other way around. The way forward for healing begins with WPD following the rules of our democratic society.
David C. Kolbe
Claypool, via email
I write in support of my friend and colleague Aaron Rovenstine.
I have worked with Aaron for a number of years when he was a sheriff’s deputy and later sheriff. He has always been professional and decent, and I have high regard for the men and women in the department. Most know that Aaron was indicted on multiple counts by a grand jury last year. His case ended with a plea to one charge before the jury was selected. The tragedy and disappointment of that case exposes the great and longstanding dysfunction between the sheriff’s department and the Warsaw Police Department and, I think, demands that there be a full and complete investigation of the Warsaw Police Department.
Basically, Aaron was accused of colluding with an inmate for favor (an alleged bribe which I do not believe occurred), and threatening an investigation of the Warsaw Police Department, which was investigating the inmate, and later, Aaron. At the beginning of the trial, during jury selection, I am told the deputy prosecutor handling the case (the appointed special prosecutor from Marshall County stepped down from active prosecution because of illness) discreetly offered to end the case with a plea to one charge of intimidation of a Warsaw detective. Aaron faced a very difficult decision and, on advice of counsel, pleaded guilty to intimidation with nine remaining counts dismissed. When a grand jury indicts someone on 10 counts and a deputy prosecutor offers to dismiss all but one count, the lowest level charge, that suggests to me that the case is weak or the prosecutors lost the will to proceed. From a practical standpoint, I understand why Aaron took the agreement but it leaves many saddened and perplexed, none more than Aaron and his family.
The special prosecutor re-emerged in the case at the time of sentencing and during a post sentencing press conference spoke of the 27 years Aaron and his father have been in office saying: “It is that atmosphere[sic] that culture that [sic] is problematic.” (WNDU.com May 24, 2017.) This statement begs the question? Was this, in part, political? Criminal cases should be pressed on the basis of specific facts and behaviors, not “problematic cultures.” Those are to be solved politically, not in the criminal courts.
Beyond all of the above, this case exposes and demands that the community now address the longtime systematic abuse of citizens’ civil rights by the Warsaw Police Department and one of its officers which looms behind this case. Citizens for years have been bullied, harassed, intimidated and their constitutional rights trampled by this officer and some others in the department. (Let me make clear most Warsaw Police Department officers are decent and committed public servants). It is a common theme within the county’s legal system to hear of and observe questionable and sometimes unconstitutional investigations, arrests and charges coming out of WPD. In fact, the department has a long history of unchecked abusiveness. When I served as prosecutor in the ‘90s I was the subject of all types of harassment: disciplinary complaints filed with the state Supreme Court; detectives traveling to Madison County, where I had served as special prosecutor, trying to dig up dirt on me; a uniformed officer caught stealing at least a dozen of my campaign signs; intense letters to the editor and press barrage; and the list goes on and on. Anyone who goes into politics knows it is bare-knuckled, but the behavior of some WPD officers over the years has put malice over community good and safety. I was able to defend myself, but beyond me there are countless individuals whose rights have been violated who have little power to defend themselves. I hope they now take the courage to speak up.
Some people talk of a time for healing within the community and the law enforcement agencies. That cannot happen until the abuse of police power at WPD is finally brought under control and officers who have broken the law and trampled the constitution are held accountable. Under our system of rule of law, enshrined in our Bill of Rights, we hire police to monitor us within set boundaries. They work for us to protect us and preserve our rights as citizens, not the other way around. The way forward for healing begins with WPD following the rules of our democratic society.
David C. Kolbe
Claypool, via email
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