Police Officer Charged
A West Bloomfield Police Officer by the name of Jeffrey Pindzia is being charged with a common law offense and conspiracy to commit a common law offense – this according to a recent Oakland Press article. Apparently, the West Bloomfield officer was involved in a ticket-fixing scheme.
These allegations against the officer are just charges right now, and as any good defense attorney will tell you “an arrest is not a conviction.” Nevertheless, the mere fact that these charges have been brought against officer Pindzia will likely have significant repercussions for this officer – at least insofar as his pending criminal cases, including drunk driving, are concerned.
Here is how this might work. Officer Pindzia makes an OWI arrest in West Bloomfield Michigan. The defendant for this West Bloomfield drunk driving then hires an attorney. This attorney might learn of these charges, and might then use this information to cast doubt on the credibility of this officer at trial. Since the crime charged against this West Bloomfield Officer apparently involves one of theft or dishonesty, it is fair game for cross-examination at trial; so the jury is bound to find out about these charges. Then, at the conclusion of the trial, the judge will tell the jury that they may believe all, some or none of what this police officer (witness) said.
It seems highly likely that a jury in such a fictional West Bloomfield drunk driving case would be very concerned about a dishonest cop, and if that same dishonest cop made the drunk driving arrest in question, then it may decide to acquit or find the defendant in this West Bloomfield drunk driving case not guilty.
On the other hand, it is also possible that the prosecutor for this West Bloomfield OWI may just decide to “adjust” the OWI charges so as to avoid trial altogether.
If you’ve been arrest in West Bloomfield for OWI, and your case is pending in the 48th District Court, you would be well advised to have your attorney carefully check over your case to see if officer Pindzia had any part in your OWI arrest. If the answer is “yes” it could make a big difference in the outcome of your West Bloomfield drunk driving case.
Get a FREE confidential CASE EVALUATION on your Michigan OWI/OWVI/DUI by calling (248) 594-4554, or filling out this consultation request form. Call now, there’s no obligation!
This post was written by...
baronedefensefirm – who has written 204 posts on Michigan Drunk Driving Lawyers.
Patrick T. Barone is the author on two books on DUI defense including the well respected two volume treatise Defending Drinking Drivers (James Publishing), and The DUI Book – A Citizen’s Guide to Understanding DUI Litigation in America. He is also the author of a monthly DUI defense column for the Criminal Defense Newsletter, published by Michigan’s State Appellate Defender’s Office. Mr. Barone is an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he teaches Drunk Driving Law and Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Criminal Defense Attorney’s of Michigan’s Trial Lawyer’s College where he provides trial skills training to Michigan’s criminal defense practitioners. Mr. Barone lectures nationally on various DUI defense topics, and he has appeared in newspapers, on television and on radio as a drunk driving defense expert. Mr. Barone has been certified as an instructor and practitioner of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and has also attended a 24-hour certification course at National Patent Analytical Corporation (the manufacturer of the DataMaster) and has thereby been deemed competent by the manufacturer to operate, perform essential diagnostic verifications and calibration checks on the DataMaster. Mr. Barone is a Sustaining Member of College for DUI Defense. Mr. Barone is the principal and founding member of The Barone Defense Firm, whose practice is limited exclusively to defending drinking drivers. The Firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan.