Pedestrian allegedly hit, killed by IMPD officer's car identified

Update: The pedestrian killed in the accident was identified as Ronny Bowling, 53.

The cause of death was "multiple blunt force trauma," according to chief deputy coroner Alfarena Ballew.

Earlier, 4:36 p.m. Friday — An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officer was suspended Friday after police said he struck and killed a pedestrian Thursday night while driving his marked patrol vehicle.

Investigators suspected Bernardo Zavalza, off-duty at the time, was under the influence of alcohol. The department stripped the Northwest District officer's police powers, citing "strict" alcohol policies.

The 39-year-old officer's legal fate, though, remained in limbo Friday, with officials noting that a complex investigation was unfolding.

Peg McLeish, a spokeswoman for the Marion County prosecutor's office, said she did not expect the office to make a charging decision Friday, citing a "number of factors" that play into investigating fatal crashes.

An anonymous 911 call around 11:50 p.m. first alerted officers that a man was walking in the middle of the road in the 4400 block of Southport Road, a police report said.

Four minutes later, Zavalza notified communications he hit a pedestrian on Southport Road between Emerson Avenue and I-65, an IMPD press release said.

Investigators are reconstructing the Southside crash scene, while the results from the officer's blood draw are pending. Police said investigators obtained a search warrant for Zavalza's vehicle.

Zavalza, a seven-year veteran of the force, was not arrested as of Friday afternoon. The department has placed him on administrative leave.

The Marion County Coroner has not identified the victim as officials are still trying to reach next of kin, but a police report indicates the pedestrian was a 53-year-old man.

The department in a statement expressed "sincere condolences to the victim's family."

Police said the case would go to the prosecutor's office for review when the investigation was completed, which for much of the day Friday was slowed by the wait for toxicology results.

Lt. Richard Riddle, a spokesman for IMPD, said test results that could determine drug use generally take 12 to 14 hours.

Police declined to release the results of the initial sobriety tests.

Zavalza was trying to revive the man when officers arrived at the scene, police said.

IMPD supervisors and accident investigators were called to the area, and police said one of the responding supervisors smelled alcohol on Zavalza's breath.

"We then called additional investigators to the scene to include our (Special Investigations Unit), DUI unit, FACT team (officers that handle blood draws and transport the evidence for crime lab analysis) and our fatal accident investigators," Riddle said at the crash scene.

Zavalza was taken to Eskenazi Hospital sometime after 1:30 a.m. for a blood draw, police said.

"By law, we have three hours from when the crash happened to conduct a DUI investigation," Riddle said. "For him to be here at the scene for investigators to make observations and do their investigation, that is not outside of the realm that a normal individual would go through."

Riddle confirmed officers conducted a standard field sobriety test at the scene of the crash.

"There's a zero-tolerance policy for operating one of our IMPD vehicles (under the influence), whether you're on-duty or off-duty," Riddle said. "That is the expectation of our officers. Anybody that is found to violate that policy is subject to administrative discipline, up to and including criminal charges."

At least two other area law enforcement officers have been arrested this month on suspicion of drunken driving.

Daniel Greenwell, a 36-year-old IMPD officer with the East District, faces two counts of operating while intoxicated after he was arrested early Sunday morning.

Andrew Ryan, the former assistant police chief and current police captain at Butler University, was arrested on Sept. 5 after his car collided with another. A breath test showed a blood alcohol content of 0.27, a police report said.

In 2010, former Indianapolis police officer David Bisard was found guilty of nine counts of drunken driving, reckless homicide and criminal recklessness for driving his patrol car into a group of motorcyclists while responding to a non-emergency call.

The crash killed one motorcyclist and seriously injured two others.

In the wake of the Bisard case, IMPD said it strengthened crash investigation procedures and several regulations about alcohol use on the job. The department also said it bolstered its officer assistance program.

David Bisard case forced IMPD to change its policies

"The Bisard incident certainly gave the department a real reason to stop and reflect," said attorney Bruce Kehoe, who represented one of the victims in a lawsuit against the city. "Whether these changes are real is yet to be seen."

Every police officer involved in a crash is now required to take a portable breath test if there is property damage or an injury. Officers are not allowed to drink eight hours before their shift or carry alcohol in their take-home cars.

They can be disciplined for driving with any amount of alcohol in their systems, even if its less than the .08 percent minimum state law requires for DUI charges. Any officer convicted of drunken driving automatically faces job termination.

A special investigations unit was created to watch over incidents that might involve wrong-­doing by police.

From the archives: Helping cops cut their drinking

Star reporters Madeline Buckley, Jill Disis and  John Tuohy​ contributed to this article. Call Star reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelAdams317