Four Goshen police officers face disciplinary action over a December 14th incident. A Goshen police officer pulled over a truck after he heard gunshots coming from it under and overpass on Elkhart Road. Driving the truck was Goshen Police Officer Brody Brown, who was intoxicated.
Brown pleaded guilty to the OWI and is facing criminal charges as laid out by a judge. In addition he was placed on unpaid administrative leave. He will be back at work on March 8.
Passengers in the truck were Goshen Police Officer Kyle Kalb, and Elkhart Police Officer Leonard Dolshenko. Both were also intoxicated, all three men were armed.
Kalb has resigned. He is entitled to accrued paid leave. His final paid day will be May 8th, he will not be on duty during the intervening time.
On the night of the incident the officer that pulled the truck over left the scene with Brown to process the OWI. Other responding officers had the truck moved to a nearby parking lot and told Kalb in Dolshenko to get rides home.
Goshen Police Chief Jose Miller said the way the officers handled the scene was in violation of many department regulations.
“This event, which easily could have been avoided, caused a negative impact on all involved. This affected community trust, other officers, families, careers, reputations. All unforeseen consequences from a regrettable chain of events.”
Chief Miller says the internal investigation revealed that Kalb was likely the one who fired his gun. The Elkhart County Prosecutor said in statement due to the mishandling of the scene no criminal charges can be filed.
The officer in charge of the scene, Mike Miller was demoted from Captain to Patrolman on January 13th. In addition Miller is not eligible for promotion or to lead a shift for two years.
Lieutenant Mark Clere was also on the scene, he was disciplined on January 31, with a four day suspension.
Officer Dolshenko, the second passenger, is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation at the Elkhart Police Department.
