Crash involving off-duty Marquette officer, not cited: internal probe
MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University Police Department is conducting an internal investigation after an off-duty officer rear-ended another driver and wasn't cited.
The crash happened around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 18. Colin Kelly was a block or two from home when he came to a complete stop as he waited to turn left onto N. 22nd Street from W. Clybourn Street. It's a route he's taken thousands of times.
"I was just on my way home from work," Kelly said.
Colin Kelly
Then, while waiting for traffic to pass, Kelly felt a sudden impact.
A man driving an SUV had just rear-ended him.
"It just happened so fast, and I was definitely dazed and in shock," Kelly said. "And when I got out of my car, I just couldn't believe that it actually happened."
Kelly wasn't hurt, but the photo he provided FOX6 showed his car was crushed.
He then got out of his car to talk with the other driver, who had told him he'd already called police. Then, Kelly said the man mentioned he was an off-duty Marquette University Police Officer.
"He said, 'I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention,'" Kelly said.
Kelly said Marquette University Police arrived on-scene a short time after.
Initially, he said he thought it was a good thing that the other driver worked in law enforcement. He figured it would make dealing with the aftermath a little easier.
But it hasn't.
"He was a little hesitant to answer any questions, and I noticed he wouldn't really stand near me a whole lot. Any time I'd kinda walk over to him, he'd kinda walk away. And in the moment, I didn't really think anything of that," Kelly said.
Colin Kelly
Kelly obtained the crash report from police and noticed a few things.
First, despite the man's comment to Kelly, the report said the off-duty officer was not distracted at the time of the crash. Second, Marquette University Police did not cite their off-duty officer. And third, the report said the off-duty officer has car insurance and lists the same provider as Kelly.
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Yet, Progressive Insurance confirmed to Kelly this week that the off-duty officer is uninsured.
"That was so shocking when it was like, 'Wow, he's a police officer, and he doesn't even have insurance?' I mean, that's just a very simple law that we all follow here," Kelly said.
Kelly came to FOX6 with his frustrations, after saying he couldn't get a call back from the department.
After FOX6 filed open records requests and requested an interview, the department wrote back a few days later.
"We are aware of errors in the accident report involving one of our off-duty officers. An internal investigation is being conducted, the accident report will be corrected and the officer has been issued citations related to this matter," wrote Detective Lt. Joe Erwin.
FOX6 News asked several follow-up questions, including when does the department expect to complete the investigation, and what needs correcting on the report? The questions accompanied another interview request.
Irwin declined to answer the questions and to do an interview, saying the open records request would answer the questions.
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Meanwhile, Kelly now relies on friends and family to help him commute 30 minutes to work in Waukesha.
He's happy there's a start on his road to justice, though his journey continues, at least for now, without a car.
"I've always supported them, but I mean, this kind of behavior I shouldn't be tolerated at all," Kelly said.
Kelly said he plans to sue the off-duty officer in small claims court for the value of his car.