CARMEL — A Carmel police officer on paid administrative leave for the past three months amid drunk driving charges has faced similar accusations in the past, yet it’s unclear how the Carmel Police Department handled the previous case.
Prosecutors charged Carmel Police Officer Bryan Hood on September 11 with operating while intoxicated endangering a person and operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration more than .15.
Hood’s blood alcohol content level was more than twice the legal limit when he was stopped September 10 for a traffic infraction near City Center drive and Range Line Road while driving his personal vehicle, according to the city.
In 2011, RTV6 reported Officer Hood was arrested for public intoxication after police received a call about someone knocking on the back door of a house on Shakamac Drive.
At the time, RTV6 reported Hood was placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation.
However, it’s unclear what happened with the 2011 case or the internal investigation.
Call 6 Investigates filed a records request under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act for any disciplinary actions involving Bryan Hood from his start date of employment to present, including the 2011 public intoxication incident.
In October, the city responded to RTV6 saying it identified 50 pages of records, but that that “certain personnel file information” had been redacted pursuant to Indiana code.
Call 6 Investigates appealed the decision, because Indiana’s public records laws state if a public employee’s discipline resulted in suspension, discharged, or demotion, the public is entitled to a factual basis for the disciplinary action.
On December 11, the city responded with only one record.
It reads as follows:
“On September 20, 2011 at approximately 4:35 AM Officer Bryan Hood was off duty and involved in an incident. This incident involved Carmel Police being dispatch to a prowler call at 13440 Shakamac Drive in Carmel, Indiana. The subsequent investigation into this incident determined that Bryan Hood was intoxicated. Officer Hood was placed under arrest for Public Intoxication, I. C. Code 7. 1- 5- 1- 3 a B Misdemeanor, and taken to the Hamilton County Jail.”
It’s unclear whether Hood was disciplined in any way following this 2011 incident.
In an email to RTV6, Courtney Livingston with the city’s law department indicated why the records weren’t provided.
“The records were expunged per a court order,” said Livingston in an email to RTV6. “We are trying to figure out what can be released, if anything, and adhere to the expungement order and applicable law.”
Records on the 2011 arrest and criminal case are no longer viewable on the state’s online court system.
Call 6 Investigates contacted Hood’s attorney, Jim Crum, for comment.
“Officer Hood is currently on administrative leave, pending the department’s internal review,” said Crum in an email to RTV6. “As for the prior arrest, those records have been expunged.”
Hood is scheduled for a bench trial on February 5, 2020.
During the stop in September, Hood registered a .19 percent BAC, which is more than twice the legal limit, according to the city.
Hood has been with the Carmel Police Department since 2000, according to the city.
