Drunk, armed 'officer' sent on express lane to jail

By JILL BRISKEY
Mail Tribune

A former Del Norte County District Attorney investigator claimed Ashland police exaggerated the seriousness of his actions last spring, when he got drunk and visited a local grocery store with a loaded handgun and a badge.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Pat Crain disagreed.

"Some drunk guy carrying around a bunch of loaded guns is a scary thing," Crain told Robert James Wikander, 55, in court on Tuesday.

"I imagine you created quite a ruckus."

Ashland police arrested Wikander on May 6 following a complaint from employees of the Alberston's on Ashland Street. Wikander allegedly claimed to be a Del Norte County sheriff's deputy.

Wikander was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, criminal impersonation of a peace officer, possession of false law enforcement identification and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.

He was sentenced to a total of 30 days in jail, two years' supervised probation and more than $1,000 in fines. Wikander was ordered to forfeit his weapons and expired district attorney's badges and identification. He cannot own firearms until the sentence ends.

Police said Wikander had a blood-alcohol level of .34 percent shortly after the incident. The legal limit in Oregon is .08.

The case was set for trial Tuesday. Instead, Wikander pleaded guilty to intoxicated driving and weapons violations and entered a no-contest plea to possession of false law enforcement identification.

In exchange, the Jackson County District Attorney's office dropped the felony charge of impersonating a peace officer.

Deputy District Attorney Matt Chancellor said Wikander created a commotion inside Albertson's when he argued with strangers and grabbed a customer's shopping cart. He knocked over two displays on his way out.

Employees told police they saw a California district attorney's badge and gun - later identified as a loaded .40-caliber Glock - under Wikander's jacket.

Ashland police arrived in time to stop Wikander from driving out of the parking lot.

"He responded, 'I'm a police officer,' and started to reach for his gun," Chancellor said.

Police said Wikander flashed his badge from Del Norte County and an expired card that once allowed him to inspect jails in California.

In addition to the badge and handgun, officers discovered a loaded AR-15 rifle, the civilian version of the U.S. military's standard infantry weapon the M-16, in Wikander's vehicle and more than 100 rounds.

"I made a mistake and I'm not proud of it," Wikander said, adding that the incident forced him to seek treatment for alcohol abuse.

Wikander told Crain he didn't agree with Chancellor's version of the events but wanted to avoid a felony conviction.

Although Wikander asked Crain to give his guns to the Crescent City Police Department, Crain handed them over to Ashland police.

In 1994, Wikander completed a diversion program after being charged with intoxicated driving in Douglas County.

In 1997, Chancellor said Wikander took a "medical retirement" from Del Norte County because of alcohol-related problems.

[whacko]

"Son, that who hit John and guns don't mix"

John Wayne

That's from one of my favorite JW movies!!!
Obviously. [:D]

ColtShorty

GOA KABA COA JPFO SAF NRA

"I won't be wronged,  I won't be insulted
and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do
these things to other people and I require
the same from them."

DADDY?????! [:D]

Sounds like SKS, err.. without the booze though. :)

Publication date: 12/04/2001
Officer was drinking before accident
Yet sheriff says alcohol played no role in October crash

BY BOB KASARDA
Times Staff Writer
VALPARAISO -- Just one week after it was announced two county police officers were disciplined for mishandling an accident caused by one of the men, word has surfaced that alcohol was involved.
Porter County Police Sgt. Mike Krawczyk had drunk a couple beers before hopping in his unmarked police car on Oct. 12 and running a red light along Ind. 49, said Porter County Sheriff Dave Reynolds.
While the subsequent investigation was hampered by an officer's failure to follow policy and turn the scene over to another department, as well as his decision to wait three hours to notify his superiors, Reynolds said there was no evidence the alcohol consumption played a role in the crash. This finding was upheld, he said, by Porter County Prosecutor James Douglas.
As a result, Reynolds is standing behind his decision to discipline Krawczyk by suspending him for 15 days without pay, in addition to stripping him of the right to drive his police car home for a period of six months.
"If we had an inkling that intoxication was involved ... the penalty would have been more severe," said Chief Deputy Dave Lain.
The officer who had supervised the accident site, Dave Leuthardt, received an even harsher penalty last week from the department's merit board. He was demoted from the rank of lieutenant to sergeant, and suffered a pay cut in the process.
There is one further step Reynolds plans to take in hopes of preventing this type of problem from reoccurring. He will ask the merit board to enact a policy prohibiting county officers from drinking any alcohol before getting behind the wheel of a police car. There was no such policy on the books when he took office two years ago, he said.
As a result, Krawczyk violated no rules when he stopped after work on Oct. 12 and had a couple beers at an area computer shop, said Maj. Doug Snider, who conducted the internal investigation with Capt. Mike Jenkins.
"This wasn't a party," Snider said.
Three hours after leaving work, he drove up to Ind. 49 along westbound County Road 500 North, stopped for a red light and then, assuming the signal had malfunctioned, drove through before it turned green. He struck a southbound car, injuring three of its occupants.
The 8:34 p.m. accident was not reported to department administrators for three hours, after which time police are prohibited from administering a blood alcohol test to a driver, Snider said. He does not believe the delay was for the purpose of shielding Krawczyk from the test.
The delay, nonetheless, left investigators at a disadvantage, said Reynolds. They followed through by interviewing anyone remotely involved with the accident and no one accused Krawczyk of being intoxicated, he said.
"The actual accident, we feel, was investigated properly," Reynolds said.
What is most frustrating to Reynolds and his top administrators is the entire fallout could have been avoided had Leuthardt just complied with the existing policy and called in another department as soon as he realized a local officer was involved in the accident. That would have eliminated any doubt Krawczyk was intoxicated and prevented the department from being put into bad light, Reynolds said.

Bob Kasarda can be reached at [email protected] or (219) 462-5151, Ext. 345.

I hope the people in the other car sue the drunk cop.
I wonder how many people he had arrested after "just a few beers"??
And why do people distrus cops?? I wonder.
Good ol' blue wall of silence.

Friggin POS.

[smoke]

I lived in Ashland Oregon for 7 years. Let me tell you as far as the Ashland P.D. were concerned, that event was the most incredible thing to happen to that sleepy town in 100 years.

The idea that A.P.D. had to draw weapons probably sent most of them in to shock. However, the drunk guy sounds like a TOTAL f*ckin' moron.

I would hope so!


So the badge sorta got him back into a jail. Irony?


I have never heard anyone say "Yes, I made a mistake, but I am proud I made that mistake."

Note: Yes, I know the difference between a jail and a prison. No, I have never been to either one.