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Two St. Joseph Co. Police Officers Resign

Justin Hicks/WVPE

Two St. Joseph County police officers – James Hart and Brad Bauters – have voluntarily resigned from the department. That’s after County Sheriff Bill Redman started the termination process for them back in May. 

An internal investigation found that Hart and Bauters  made “incomplete and false” statements about a deadly car crash in February.

 

An accident investigation revealed the man who died in the crash was drunk at the time, but when two officers stopped him earlier in the day, they mentioned no signs of intoxication.

 

The department’s internal investigation found that the officers’ initial reports and later comments were “incomplete and misleading.”

 

"The officers certainly could have done a more thorough job during the earlier incident. I wish they had owned up to that in the days following it, instead of trying to hide it," Sheriff Redman said in a May 21 statement.

 

The officers’ resignations will end their pending disciplinary cases with the St. Joseph County Police Merit Board.

 

Contact Gemma atgdicarlo@wvpe.orgor follow her on Twitter at@gemma_dicarlo.

 

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Gemma DiCarlo came to Indiana by way of Athens, Georgia. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and certificates in New Media and Sustainability. She has radio experience from her time as associate producer of Athens News Matters, the flagship public affairs program at WUGA-FM.
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