Bisard sentenced to 16 years, 3 suspended

FORT WAYNE — David Bisard was defiant until the very end.

Despite a 0.19 percent blood alcohol test and being convicted of nine felonies by a jury of his peers, the now-former Indianapolis police officer said again Tuesday during his sentencing that he was not drunk when he plowed into a group of motorcyclists.

He will now have several years behind bars to think about it.

Allen Superior Court Judge John Surbeck sentenced Bisard to 16 years in prison. With three years suspended and time off for good behavior, he could be released in 6 1/2 years.

"I was driving that car. I do accept responsibility," Bisard said with tears in his eyes and his voice cracking. "But I am not going to accept responsibility for being intoxicated ... because I wasn't."

Bisard asked for some level of forgiveness for the Aug. 6, 2010, crash on Indianapolis' Northeastside that killed Eric Wells, 30, and severely injured Mary Mills and Kurt Weekly.

"I wake up everyday knowing I took the life of an innocent man," Bisard said. "But I am not the awful man I've been made out to be. I understand their anger toward me and will never be able to understand their pain."

Bisard's attorney, John Kautzman, had asked for a sentence of eight to 11 years with an unspecified number of years suspended. He said after the sentencing that Bisard wants to "immediately start his sentence and roll up his sleeves and get into the treatment and therapy he needs."

Surbeck, though, wasn't pleased with Bisard's defiance.

"Unless and until the defendant accepts the fact that he was drunk instead of these blanket denials, I don't think rehabilitation will get you anywhere," Surbeck said.

Facing consequences

The denial of intoxication infuriated the Wells family.

"Listening to that was one of the hardest things I've seen in this long legal process," said Aaron Wells, the father of Eric Wells. "We hope David Bisard gets the help he needs and never does this again."

Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson, who sought a sentence of 22 years in prison with two years suspended, said she was disappointed but not surprised Bisard did not admit being drunk.

"I didn't expect any revelation or an admission he was intoxicated," she said. "By deceiving himself he is deceiving all of us."

Robinson said the blood evidence submitted during the trial showing Bisard was drunk was "solid."

"He chose to drink," she said. "He chose to drive. He needs to face the consequences of that."

Bisard did admit to being drunk when he crashed his truck in April 2013 in a separate incident in Lawrence. He said that DUI arrest caused him to lose the trust of his family and friends and made it difficult for people to believe he wasn't drunk at the time of the fatal 2010 crash.

Bisard's wife, Lora, testified tearfully about the impact the 2010 crash and criminal case had on her and the couple's two young daughters.

"He was a hands-on dad," she said.

David Bisard wiped away tears and bit his lip as she talked about concerns for their daughters.

Lora Bisard said the family prayed daily for the crash victims and their families. She asked for treatment for her husband rather than long-term incarceration.

Bisard said he would appeal the verdict, and Surbeck said a public defender would be appointed for him.

Victims still in pain

The victims and their families all said they had been in constant pain the past three years. All said they have yet to see remorse in Bisard. And all asked for the maximum sentence.

"My son's freedom was ripped away by David Bisard's actions that day," said Mary Wells, the mother of Eric Wells. "There is no sentence long enough or punishment severe enough that could possibly compensate for my daily torment."

She cried as she read a prepared statement. Eric Wells' wife, Luisa Montilla, wiped away tears as she listened.

"Bisard will one day walk out of jail a free man and back to his family," Mary Wells said. "On that day, I will still be longing to see my son's face."

Montilla said she and her husband met when they were in high school and waited until after they graduated from college to get married. They moved to Indiana to build a family.

"Ever since I met him, he was always very giving," Montilla said. "He wasn't out there doing bad things. He was doing everything right."

She said her husband was planning to go to graduate school before he died.

"I don't have my best friend. I don't have my husband," she said. "I couldn't build my life again. It will never be the same."

Like Mary Wells, Montilla asked the judge for the maximum sentence. She said that over the past three years she has yet to see remorse in Bisard's face, only a "lackluster" expression. She said Bisard had plenty of opportunities to show he is sorry for her husband's death.

"Just say: 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry for your loss,'" Montilla said. "But that first year, nothing, not one word."

Bisard stared straight at Montilla as she spoke. Occasionally, he put his head down. He would later say his attorney instructed him to not express remorse to the family until the trial was over.

Mills said the crash forever changed her life and she is in constant pain. The drugs she now must take hurt her quality of life, she said.

"I have a different life now, very different," she said. She said she had to learn to walk again.

She said she wants Bisard to stay in jail until he can accept and acknowledge what he has done and address his problems.

Expressing remorse

A Fort Wayne-based clinical psychologist who examined David Bisard after he was convicted last month said that Bisard did show remorse for the fatal accident.

"I found that he is genuinely remorseful," Dr. Stephen Ross said. "He's also concerned about himself and about his family."

Ross, who met with Bisard a few times last month, said Bisard broke down several times when he talked about the accident.

Ross also said Bisard has an alcohol abuse problem partly brought about by a series of "traumatic events" he encountered as a police officer.

Ross said the former officer talked about the 2008 Hovey Street murders, where two mothers and two children were killed, and a 2010 police-action shooting where Bisard killed a robbery suspect. Ross said those events, where Bisard was one of the first responding officers, resulted in psychological issues. Ross said although Bisard was determined to be fit for duty at that time, he did not get emotional counseling.

Kautzman asked Ross if Bisard's psychological state and alcohol abuse problems would be resolved if he were to be sentenced either to probation or short-term imprisonment. Ross said such terms would help Bisard recover.

"This is a man who needs extensive treatment," Ross said. "He wanted treatment. He wanted help."

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at 444-2762 and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.