The sheriff department, prosecutor, and Amanda's parents believe that Officer Joseph Elliot McCowan [Crown Point Indiana PD] played a role in covering up his son's murder of Amanda Bach:
Amanda Bach Murder Case - Investigation of Officer Joseph Elliott McCowan [Crown Point Indiana PD] - September 2011 - April 2013
HAMMOND | Joseph McCowan, father of convicted murderer Dustin McCowan, has filed for bankruptcy, according to federal court records. The filing comes on the heels of a federal lawsuit filed by American Family Mutual Insurance Co. arguing it should not be held liable as part of a civil legal battle stemming from Dustin McCowan's 2011 murder of Portage resident and former girlfriend Amanda Bach. The company targets the parents of the deceased woman and the McCowans, arguing that while it had provided a homeowner policy at the time to the family of Dustin McCowan, the coverage did not apply to incidents of intentional bodily injury or injury arising out of criminal behavior resulting in a conviction. The insurance company is not named in the July lawsuit filed at the county level by the parents of Amanda Bach against Dustin McCowan and Joseph Elliott McCowan. Yet the company is asking a federal judge to determine it has no financial or other responsibility in the civil dispute. William and Sandra Bach are seeking an unspecified amount of money in the suit, which targets Dustin McCowan's intentional acts under the Indiana Child Wrongful Death statute. The civil suit further accuses Joseph McCowan of contributing to the murder by not properly securing his firearms, one of which Dustin McCowan is believed to have used to shoot and kill 19-year-old Bach on Sept. 16, 2011.
Elliott McCowan's insurance company wants out of Bach's wrongful death suit
Elliott McCowan’s homeowner’s insurance company has filed suit in federal court seeking a judge’s determination that it has no obligation to cover either McCowan or his son, Dustin--the convicted murderer of Amanda Bach--for any claims which might arise from the wrongful death suit filed last year by Bach’s parents.
The American Family Mutual Insurance Company filed that suit on Friday. It names Elliott and Dustin McCowan and Bach’s parents, William and Sandra.
According to the suit, at the time of Bach’s death by gunshot wound, on or about Aug. 16, 2011, Elliott McCowan was the holder of a homeowner’s insurance policy with a liability limit of $500,000 per occurrence of bodily injury or properly damage.
However, the suit argues, exclusions from liability coverage include the following:
* When the bodily injury is caused intentionally.
* When the bodily injury arises out of a violation of any criminal law.
Also excluded from coverage: any punitive or exemplary damages.
American Family is thus asking the court to “declare and determine” the following: that its policy does not cover either McCowan for any claims arising out of the murder; and that the company has no obligation to defend or indemnify either McCowan against any claims made in the Bachs’ suit, no obligation to compromise or settle any such claim, and no obligation to pay in any part any judgment rendered against either or both.
McCowan was convicted on Feb. 26, 2012, of Bach’s murder and is serving a 60-year sentence in the Pendleton Correction Facility in Madison County.
Count I of the Bachs’ suit notes that on or about Aug. 16, 2011, Dustin McCowan “negligently, carelessly, recklessly, and/or intentionally shot Amanda Bach”; that she “suffered a horrific, terrible, untimely, wrongful death”; and that her parents, under the Indiana Child Wrongful Death statute, are “entitled to recover for the loss of love, affection, and companionship, attorney fees, costs of this action, burial, and funeral bills.”
Count II names Elliott McCowan and hinges on the enduring mystery of the case: what firearm did Dustin McCowan use to shoot Bach? and what became of that weapon?
Prosecutors suggested at trial that the murder weapon was Elliott McCowan’s Smith & Wesson .38 caliber Airlite revolver, which he testified at trial he kept under a sofa in the living room but which he reported missing shortly after Bach’s body was discovered.
That revolver has never been found.
“Upon information and belief,” the suit alleges, Dustin McCowan “used his father’s firearms to fatally shoot Amanda Bach.”
Those firearms “were not properly secured” and “were accessible to his minor son,” according to the suit, although Elliott McCowan “had a duty to properly secure his firearms when he was not home.”
The suit concludes that a “direct and proximate cause of Amanda Bach’s death and fatal shooting” was Elliott McCowan’s “carelessness and negligence.”
The suit does not specify the amount sought by the Bachs.
The parents of a northern Indiana woman fatally shot in 2011 are suing the man convicted in her killing and his father.
William and Sandra Bach's civil suit seeks an unspecified amount of money from Dustin McCowan and his father, Joseph Elliott McCowan.
Dustin McCowan was sentenced in March to 60 years in prison in the fatal September 2011 shooting of his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend, Amanda Bach of Portage.
The Bachs' suit accuses Joseph McCowan of contributing to the murder by not properly securing his firearms, one of which Dustin McCowan is believed to have used to kill Bach.
The Times of Munster reports ( http://bit.ly/11K9Sj8) police have said they believe Joseph McCowan, a Crown Point police officer, may have helped his son try to cover up the murder.
VALPARAISO - The parents of murder victim Amanda Bach have filed a civil lawsuit against the young man responsible for her death and his father. William and Sandra Bach are seeking an unspecified amount of money in their suit against Dustin McCowan and his father, Joseph Elliott McCowan. The Bachs are claiming they are entitled to reasonable compensation from Dustin McCowan for their loss. The suit accuses Joseph McCowan of contributing to the murder by not properly securing his firearms, one of which Dustin McCowan is believed to have used to shoot and kill 19-year-old Bach on Sept. 16, 2011. "Defendant, Joseph Elliott McCowan, had a duty to properly secure his firearms when he was not home," the suit states. The Bachs cite the Indiana Child Wrongful Death statute to justify their claim against Joseph McCowan. Dustin McCowan was sentenced in March to 60 years in prison for murdering the Portage resident, who was a former girlfriend. A jury heard evidence for nearly a month before finding him guilty of shooting Bach in the throat during the early morning hours after she showed up at the Union Township home he was living in at the time with his father. Bach's partially clothed body was found the following day less than 300 yards from the house in a wooded area along County Road 625 West at the Canadian National Railroad tracks. County police have said they believe Joseph McCowan, a Crown Point police officer, may have aided his son in attempting to cover up the murder. Dustin McCowan failed in his first shot at overturning his sentence and conviction in May. Porter Superior Court Judge Bill Alexa tossed out claims that he erred by not stepping aside after learning about a telephone call with McCowan from the jail that included derogatory and threatening remarks about prosecutors, police and their family members. An appeal is expected in the case.
VALPARAISO — The parents of Amanda Bach are suing both the man who killed their daughter on Sept. 16, 2011, and his father. A lawsuit filed in Porter County on July 31 names both Dustin McCowan, now 20, and Joseph Elliott McCowan, a police officer with the Crown Point Police Department. Dustin was convicted of 19-year-old Bach’s murder on Feb. 26 after an almost month-long trial. Porter Superior Court Judge William Alexa sentenced the younger McCowan to 60 years in prison March 28 for the death of the Portage girl. The attorney for William and Sandra Bach, David E. Woodward of Woodward and Blaskovich, said his clients did not want to comment on the matter. John Vouga of Vouga and Associates, who with Nick Barnes defended Dustin McCowan, said that he has an appointment to meet with the elder McCowan on Friday. "Our official stance is it’s not worth commenting on right now," Vouga said. Dustin McCowan’s appeal is now being handled by a public defender. The Bachs’ suit states that the parents are suing under the Indiana Child Wrongful Death statute and "are entitled to recover for loss of love, affection and companionship, as well as all other damages permitted." They included the father in the suit because he "failed to properly secure his firearms in which his son, Defendant, Dustin McCowan, had access," the suit states. "A direct and proximate cause of Amanda Bach’s death and fatal shooting, was the carelessness and negligence of the Defendant, Joseph Elliott McCowan," according to the suit. Police were made aware of Bach’s death when her car was found abandoned in downtown Wheeler, north of where the McCowans lived then. Search parties found her body Sept. 17 in a copse of trees near tracks, close to where the McCowans lived and where Dustin was known to dispose of trash from parties. She had been shot in the neck by a .38 caliber gun, and the elder McCowan’s .38 pistol that was kept under a sofa was discovered to be missing shortly after the body was found.
On the force for 25 years, Zeolla was promoted just last year to sergeant, which may come as a surprise when you learn that no officer on the force today has received more complaints from citizens than him: 93 and counting.
On July 23, 2013, Detroit Police Officer William Zeolla told police that he found his girlfriend Angela Kolhagen's lifeless body in his backyard. According to Zeolla, while he was home, Angela took his service gun and went outside and shot herself. Zeolla then carried her body to the front yard - thus disturbing the possible crime scene.
All suicides are supposed to be treated like homicides - and it isn't until homicide can be out-ruled that a death is considered a sucide. In Angie's case, it appears that it was quickly decided that she had committed suicide because that's what Officer Zeolla said. End of story. Case closed.
Angie was so unimportant to the Detroit PD, that they did not release her name. After several days of OIDV specialists tracking down info on the victim, we came up with not only Angie's name but the name of her boyfriend: Officer William Zeolla.
More searching by our OIDV group on the mysterious Officer Zeolla and we discovered why the Detroit PD and his family and friends were protective of his identity: Zeolla has a long history of police brutality - backed up with lawsuits filed by his victims.
Officer Zeolla has been involved in excessive-force lawsuits that collectively have cost the city $660,000 in settlements.
At the time of Angie's death, Officer Zeolla and the Detroit PD were being sued for Zeolla's excessive force in yet another case of police brutality.
DETROIT (WJBK) - A fatal shooting Tuesday afternoon happened at the home of a Detroit police officer on the city's northwest side.
"It appears that it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the part of the officer's girlfriend. We're still early in the investigation, and we should have an update sooner than later," said Detroit Police Chief James Craig.
Fox 2 has learned the weapon the woman used may have belonged to the officer.
Neighbors said the two were living together, and it did not appear as if they were a troubled couple.
During the initial search of the property, police spent several minutes in the backyard. Sources told Fox 2 that is where the victim shot herself before the officer carried her to the front of the house.
Several police vehicles responded to the scene. Neighbors said the response time was very fast.
Police are continuing to investigate.
Report: Girlfriend of Detroit police officer fatally shot; suicide suspected MLive July 24, 2013
DETROIT — Detroit police were quick to arrive to the scene of a fatal shooting at the home of a fellow officer on the city's northwest side Tuesday,WJBK, Fox 2 News in Detroit reports. "It appears that it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the part of the officer's girlfriend. We're still early in the investigation, and we should have an update sooner than later," Detroit Police Chief James Craig told Fox 2. Sources said police were investigating the backyard of the home where the shooting initially occurred prior to the officer carrying his girlfriend to the front of the home, the news source reports.
Keenan Ellsberry said the last thing he expected when he drove to his ex-wife's house in the wee hours of May 2, 2011, was to be mistaken for a drug dealer and beaten by police.
"I thought I was going to die," the 36-year-old advertising executive from West Bloomfield said of the events that morning in Detroit.
Ellsberry, who is black, said two white officers savagely attacked him in front of his ex-wife and two of his children and then falsely accused him of assaulting the officers and trying to grab one of their guns.
The criminal charges were dropped after Officer Steve Posey, who also is black, told internal affairs investigators that the other officers used excessive force.
Ellsberry says he suffered long-term injuries and is suing the officers and the city. His ex-wife, Chanel Smith, a vice president of a suburban bank branch, filed a separate suit on behalf of their children, saying they are getting therapy for trauma.
"None of this surprises me -- we see it every day," Ron Scott of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality said of the Ellsberry
Scott's group has complained for years about police brutality in Detroit. Its efforts helped spark an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which forced the Police Department in 2003 to adopt policies to reduce use of force, curtail mistreatment of prisoners and end the practice of dragnet arrests of potential homicide witnesses.
The department is years behind schedule in carrying out the reforms. But under Mayor Dave Bing, the department has made an all-out push to comply and is nearing the 90% mark.
Though use-of-force complaints have dropped -- there were 1,369 complaints in 2011 and 1,421 in 2010 -- critics say the department still has a costly brutality problem.
Nearly half of the $57.4 million the cash-strapped city has paid out in lawsuits since July 2009 was in police cases, many involving excessive force and false arrest, records show.
"We're making headway because people aren't being killed," Scott said. "But the beatings, the verbal abuse and the racist remarks have not gone away."
Scott said the Ellsberry case is a good example of that.
Refusing to cover up "The hero of this story is Steve Posey," said Ellsberry's lawyer, David A. Robinson of Southfield. "Posey saw something wrong and put his career on the line by following policy, not the Blue Code" -- an unwritten policy of police officers covering for each other.
Robinson, a former Detroit police officer, said it's one of the few times he has seen an officer break ranks with comrades.
Posey declined to comment for this report.
The department's internal affairs section presented Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy with a warrant request for criminal charges against three officers. But after several months, the department still is waiting for a response.
Worthy's office said it hopes to decide soon.
The officers, who have been involved in other excessive-force lawsuits that collectively have cost the city $660,000 in settlements, didn't respond to a Free Press interview request. The lawsuits alleged unprovoked beatings and trumped-up charges to justify the officers' conduct. It's unclear if they were disciplined in those cases.
City lawyers wouldn't comment on the Ellsberry case, but said in court papers that the officers had probable cause for the arrest and acted in self-defense.
Former Deputy Chief Jamie Fields, who was in charge of consent-decree compliance until he retired in 2009, says the department hasn't gotten the upper hand on excessive force.
He said police supervisors often are reluctant to discipline overly aggressive cops because they make a lot of arrests and produce statistics.
"The majority of officers want to do the right thing," Fields said. "Until you start holding officers accountable and disciplining them for doing wrong things and show that such behavior won't be tolerated, the culture won't change."
At a community meeting Thursday to discuss the city's crime crisis, Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. said that his officers must be aggressive but mindful of the rights of law-abiding citizens in combating crime.
"We have to resist the urge of those heavy-handed techniques that run over people's rights," he said, referring to controversial tactics, such as stop-and-frisk, that tend to target minorities.
The Ellsberry incident began about 3 a.m., according to police reports, dispatch recordings and internal affairs interviews obtained by Ellsberry's lawyers.
Officers Brian Terechenok and Justin Lyons, both 12-year department veterans, said Ellsberry failed to signal a turn in Detroit's quiet, middle-class Rosedale Park neighborhood.
Ellsberry, vice president and director of innovation at Team Detroit, Ford's Dearborn-based advertising agency, said he was on his way to his ex-wife's home to drop off some of the $1,880 in cash he had received from selling a motorcycle.
The officers said Ellsberry sped off in his 2006 white Land Rover and blew through stop and yield signs before pulling into his ex-wife's driveway in the 15300 block of Stahelin.
Ellsberry said there was no chase. He said he pulled over after noticing the scout car's emergency lights.
He said officers ordered him out of his vehicle and assaulted him without warning outside the view of the scout car camera.
The officers said the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Ellsberry hit them and tried to grab Lyons' gun before they finally subued him.
Afterward, he was taken to a hospital for treatment, and then booked for fleeing and eluding police, resisting arrest, assault and trying to disarm an officer. He spent three days in jail. What officer reported Ellsberry's criminal lawyer, Harrison Munson of Detroit, said Ellsberry's fate would have been sealed but for Posey, 44, a former Chrysler worker who joined the department in 2009.
It was Posey's first night on midnights in the 8th Precinct.
He and Officer James Aude, who is white, were the first to respond to Terechenok and Lyons' call for help.
When they arrived, Posey said, he saw Ellsberry's distraught ex-wife and their crying 12-year-old daughter in the driveway. After ordering them into the house, he saw Ellsberry lying face-down on the front lawn with his hands cuffed behind his back.
He said Lyons was on top of Ellsberry, kneeing him in the kidneys and screaming at him to stop resisting.
Ellsberry wasn't resisting, Posey later told investigators.
He said Terechenok was standing nearby and out of breath, as if he had been involved in the struggle.
Posey said he tapped Lyons on the shoulder to stop him from kneeing Ellsberry and tried to get Ellsberry to his feet. By then, two other white officers arrived, William Zeolla and Jason Kile.
Posey told investigators that he yelled at Kile to avoid stepping on Ellsberry's cell phone. He said Kile deliberately kicked it across the lawn. Then, Zeolla stepped with full force on the side of Ellsberry's face, Posey said.
Chanel Smith told investigators she was on the phone with Ellsberry when he pulled into her driveway, heard him repeatedly ask what he had done wrong and then heard a commotion.
When she went outside, she said, she saw two officers on top of Ellsberry, punching, kneeing and choking him.
"Why are they doing that to Dad?" she said her children, ages 10 and 12, screamed.
More scout cars arrived.
Smith said she pleaded with the officers to stop the beating.
Ellsberry never resisted, she said. "I felt like his life was slipping away ..."
Eventually, Posey got Ellsberry into his scout car.
"Man, I wasn't fighting them, I wasn't fighting them," Posey said Ellsberry told him.
While Ellsberry was at a hospital getting stitches in his upper lip and painkillers for bruises, officers searched his vehicle for drugs or weapons. They found an empty magazine for Ellsberry's legally registered handgun.
At one point, they wanted to take the vehicle to the Ambassador Bridge to have border agents X-ray it for contraband.
Officers got a warrant to draw blood to check for alcohol or drugs in Ellsberry's system. The results were negative.
Later that morning, he was taken back to the hospital because he was urinating blood.
By then, Posey had told a supervisor, Sgt. James Demps, what he had witnessed.
Demps, who is black, had arrived at the scene after the struggle, but told investigators he had to physically stop Terechenok from manhandling Ellsberry during a pat down.
Demps also said he had "a bad vibe" about the incident because Ellsberry didn't have the demeanor of a dope dealer and trying to stop him at 3 a.m. for a minor traffic offense seemed contrived. He also said he suspected Terechenok of being racist.
Demps wouldn't discuss the case with the Free Press.
But audiotapes of his interview with investigators show that he wanted his shift lieutenant to call Internal Affairs. He said the lieutenant didn't want to jeopardize the officers' careers.
"What if this is your brother, your cousin or whatever," Demps said he told his boss. "Wouldn't you want some justice for this guy? I mean, think about this. This happened in front of his wife and kids. They'll never look at him the same. ... Something's got to be done."
Demps said a sergeant who also was reluctant to call Internal Affairs expressed shock after googling Ellsberry's name and discovering what he does for a living.
Internal affairs got involved anyway after Ellsberry complained that $450 of his cash was missing. The investigation quickly escalated into a police brutality probe. Terechenok, Lyons and Zeolla wouldn't talk to investigators on advice of their lawyers.
Two other officers, both white, said they didn't witness an assault on Ellsberry.
"I was in a position to have seen that and I can say with a clear conscience that that did not happen," said Aude, adding that Ellsberry resisted being handcuffed, but not violently.
"I don't know why people's names are getting stomped in the mud on this whole thing," Kile told investigators. Charges dismissed Three months later, a judge dismissed the charges against Ellsberry after Terechenok, Lyons and Zeolla refused to testify at Ellsberry's preliminary exam.
Ellsberry said the episode was scary: "If Posey hadn't come onto the scene and my wife and kids hadn't been there, I think they would have killed me."
He said his fingers are still numb from the incident, and he has nerve damage in his wrists because of too-tight handcuffs.
He wants the officers prosecuted and fired.
But that may not happen.
Chief Godbee said that there are discrepancies in Posey's account that could prevent the officers from being charged or disciplined. He wouldn't elaborate.
Keenan Ellsberry says two Detroit police officers assaulted him on May 2, 2011, after pulling him over for a traffic stop. The officers said it was Ellsberry who assaulted them. But a judge dismissed felony charges against the Detroit-area advertising executive after the officers refused to testify at his preliminary examination in Detroit’s 36th District Court. Ellsberry and his ex-wife are suing the officers over the incident.
Prior and pending lawsuits against the officers Detroit Free Press
The Detroit police officers named in the Keenan Ellsberry lawsuit -- Brian Terechenok, Justin Lyons, William Zeolla and Jason Kile -- have been sued before. Here is a summary of the lawsuits.
2003: A Detroit man sues Terechenok and other officers, saying they beat and arrested him without justification after a mix-up with a gas station attendant who wouldn't let the man pump $6 worth of gasoline that he had already paid for. The man said officers assumed he was trying to rob the station. The officers said he was disorderly. Outcome: The city settled the case out of court for $290,000.
2008: A Wayne County man sues Zeolla and another officer, saying they severely beat him after he tried to flee on foot after a traffic stop. The officers said he resisted arrest. The man later pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. Outcome: The city settled the case out of court for $47,500.
2008: A jogger sues Lyons and two other officers, saying they assaulted and arrested him without justification. The man said he was jogging, heard gunshots and picked up his pace. He said he wasn't aware the police were chasing him because they were driving an unmarked car and wearing fatigues. Lyons refused to answer questions about his disciplinary record at his lawsuit deposition, and the other officers failed to appear for their depositions, court papers said. Outcome: The city settled the lawsuit out of court for $131,500.
2008:A Detroit man sues Zeolla, Kile and another officer, saying they pulled over the car he was riding in on a bogus traffic charge -- that he wasn't wearing a seat belt. He said they patted him down without justification, found a concealed handgun, beat him while he was restrained and refused to provide any medical treatment. The man pleaded guilty to a weapons violation and was jailed. The officers denied the allegations. Outcome: The city settled the case out of court for $132,500.
2009: A Detroit motorist sues Terechenok and Lyons, saying they assaulted him without provocation after pulling him over for driving with his car lights off. The man said the lights were on. He said the officers arrested him for carrying a weapon even though he had a valid concealed weapons permit. The charge later was dismissed. Outcome: The city agreed to settle out of court with the motorist and his passenger, who also was arrested, for $60,000.
2011:A man sues Zeolla and three other officers, saying they assaulted and arrested him without justification while he was walking on a city street. He said the criminal charges ultimately were dropped. Outcome: Pending.
2011: A Detroit motorist sues Kile and another officer, saying they pulled him over on bogus charges of driving with a defective taillight and failing to wear a seat belt, threatened to shoot him if he tried to flee, and kicked and punched him while he lay on the ground in handcuffs. The officers denied doing anything wrong. Outcome: Pending.
Keenan Ellsberry v. City of Detroit/Officer William Zeolla OCTOBER 30, 2012
July 21, 2013 - Washtenaw County SD Lt. Brian Filipiak arrived at the Detroit airport to pick up his daughter. She noted that her father/Filipiak appeared to have been drinking and made contact with airport security, stating that she was afraid to leave with her father. Security noted that it was apparent Filipiak was intoxicated. Filipiak made reference to the fact that he was a police officer and security couldn't arrest him. Filipiak left the airport without his daughter.
November 01, 2013 -Pinckney PD officers responded to a domestic at the Filipiak's home. Filipiak informed the responding officers that he is a police officer and that the domestic was only verbal. He admited to the officers that he had been drinking. Filipiak's wife informed the officers that she wanted Filipiak to leave. Officers informed Filipiak's wife that Filipiak is too intoxicated to go somewhere else on his own accord. Filipiak told officers he would go upstairs and sleep. Case closed.
November 13, 2016 - Montmorency County SD dispatchers received multiple 911 calls for reckless driving about 1:18 p.m. Nov. 13 in the area of M-33 near Lockwood Road, with the truck in question reported as almost hitting several vehicles and almost going off the road. Washtenaw County SD Lt. Brian Filipiak was stopped by a Montmorency County SD deputy on suspicion of driving under the influence. Filipiak had blood alcohol content of 0.28 and 0.27.
November 13, 2016 - Filipiak was charged with misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more - imprisonment of up to 180 days, a fine between $200 and $700, and up to 360 hours of community service. Filipiak was placed on administrative leave.
January 31, 2017 - Washtenaw County SD Lt. Brian Filipiak pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of operating while intoxicated.
March 03, 2017 - Washtenaw County SD Lt. Brian Filipiak's sentencing. Filipiak was sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service. He also received a 93 day deferred jail sentence.
The following are clips from surveillance footage from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
First clip:
The recording was taken about 12:30 a.m. July 21, 2013, when the Wayne County Airport Authority was contacted about a girl concerned with leaving with her father, Brian Filipiak, who she believed was intoxicated.
Second clip:
The recording was taken about 9:45 p.m. November 01, 2013, when police were called to a home for a reported verbal domestic situation. The incident involved Brian Filipiak.
Sheriff's officer stripped of badge has history with police and alcohol
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - A former Washtenaw County Sheriff's lieutenant sentenced Friday, March 3 for drunken driving has a history of run-ins with police related to alcohol consumption.
Brian Filipiak, 47, was sentenced to one year of probation, with a deferred jail sentence, for operating while intoxicated in connection with a drunken-driving arrest on Nov. 13, 2016, in northern Michigan. He initially was charged with misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more for the incident, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in January.
Though Filipiak remains employed in a support role at the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, he was stripped of his title as a lieutenant and sworn law enforcement officer after an internal investigation into the incident.
Police reports obtained by The Ann Arbor News show the November incident was not Filipiak's first contact with police involving alcohol use. Reports show there were at least two incidents in 2013.
Filipiak and his Boyne City-based attorney, Timothy Arner, declined to comment on the prior incidents when asked about them following the sentencing Friday.
Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton said the department was aware of the past incidents and investigated them and ordered corrective action as appropriate.
The first incident occurred about 12:30 a.m. July 21, 2013, at the United Airlines Baggage Service Office at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Drunk Driving Arrest of Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Lt. Brian Filipiak
Wayne County Airport Authority officials responded to a report that a juvenile girl was hiding in the office, an airport authority police report showed. The report includes two narratives - one written by Officer Thomas Zahina and one by a Lt. Tavtigian, whose first name was not included.
The girl had told a United employee that she was afraid of someone and told police that she was afraid to leave with her father, the report shows.
The portion of the report written by Zahina said the girl, who was crying and visibly shaken, told him she was supposed to get a ride home from the airport from her father, but thought he was acting strange and appeared intoxicated when she met him in the baggage claim area.
Zahina then approached Filipiak.
"It became immediately apparent that B. Filipiak was intoxicated," Zahina wrote. "There was an odor of intoxicants coming from his breath and his eyes appeared red and glossy. I asked how he got to the airport and he stated that he drove."
After advising Filipiak to arrange for he and his daughter to be picked up, Zahina asked for Filipiak's identification, Zahina wrote in the report. Filipiak repeatedly refused to hand it over and Zahina explained he faced arrest if he didn't comply, according to the report.
"B. Filipiak stated, 'You won't arrest me,' and 'You don't know who I am, do you?'" the report states.
Zahina then requested that another officer come to the location and two others, including Tavtigian, came, he said. A fourth official is later documented as being involved as well.
After further discussion, Filipiak turned over his identification, according to the report. A portion of the report following the reference to identification is redacted in both Zahina's and Tavtigian's statements.
Tavtigian conducted a pat-down of Filipiak, according to his portion of the report. He said Filipiak smelled of intoxicants and admitted to drinking "a few beers."
Filipiak also admitted to driving to the airport and parking at a parking deck, Tavtigian wrote.
Zahina eventually escorted the girl and her stepmother, who came to pick her up, out, according to the report. Zahina then ordered Filipiak to leave the area, but told him he would be arrested if he attempted to drive, Zahina wrote.
Tavtigian wrote that he asked if Filipiak had a credit card to take a taxi or if authorities could call someone for him, and Filipiak responded that he had a credit card and told him "not to worry about it."
Filipiak refused to cooperate and walked toward the parking deck, Tavtigian said. He said he conducted a search of the parking deck, but did not find Filipiak.
Zahina directed Filipiak toward ground transportation and Filipiak left in that direction, by Zahina's account.
"I briefly positioned my patrol vehicle near the parking deck exit to discourage B. Filipiak from driving out in his vehicle," Zahina wrote.
Filipiak appears on airport surveillance footage provided to The Ann Arbor News for about 43 minutes during the incident.
No documentation obtained by The News showed further contact with Filipiak that day.
In a second incident about 9:45 p.m. Nov. 1, 2013, police were called to a home in Pinckney for a reported verbal domestic situation, a police report obtained from the Pinckney Police Department shows. The responding officer, Officer Nate Watson, interviewed Filipiak and his wife separately at the home, according to audio recording from a dashboard camera.
Filipiak can be heard on the recording introducing himself and telling Watson that he and his wife were going through marital problems and that he was a cop from Washtenaw County.
"So, I've had some beers, I'm not going to deny that," he said.
He also told Watson that the argument had not gotten physical and, when asked, said there had not been prior domestic incidents requiring police response to the home.
Filipiak's wife can be heard telling Watson that her husband was seeking alcohol treatment. However, she said he had left the home and come back, was "obviously drunk" that night and wouldn't leave when asked. She claimed Filipiak was being verbally abusive.
When Watson asked about prior incidents, Filipiak's wife said a report had been filed at an airport when Filipiak showed up "highly intoxicated." She asked that a preliminary breath test be done, but Watson said it wouldn't make a difference, because no crime was committed.
She indicated that she did not believe the argument would become physical, but wanted Filipiak to leave and didn't think anyone would let him stay with them.
Watson said officials would typically hope to separate a couple for the night, under the circumstances, but said Filipiak wouldn't be able to go somewhere else on his own accord.
"If he's been drinking - I mean, I can smell it on him - he definitely can't be driving," Watson said.
Filipiak indicated he would immediately go to bed.
The interaction with the couple lasted about eight minutes, according to the audio recording. The case was then closed.
Filipiak has been employed with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office for 21 years.
Sheriff Clayton reiterated Friday that Filipiak's actions in the November incident were "unacceptable."
"I am far from comfortable with the incident," he said. "I am far from comfortable with the situation - I'm angered, disappointed and I'm frustrated, but I am more than comfortable with the corrective response that we've put in place, given the circumstance that we had to navigate."
All aspects of employment, including time with the department, past incidents and severity of the situation, are taken into account in corrective action determinations, he said.
He said he could not comment on specific personnel issues or what action was taken in prior incidents, but said when the public or anyone is reviewing the matter, it's important to recognize opinions may differ based on the amount of information known.
"We don't ignore behavior that doesn't meet our expectations," he said. "None of us get a free pass."
On November 13, 2016 Lt. Brian Filipiak of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office was arrested on suspicion of "super drunk" driving in northern Michigan’s Montmorency County. RELATED STORY
Highlights:
00:15 Montmorency County Sheriff Deputy Zachery Morrison passed the pickup truck driven by Brian Filipiak, an off duty Lieutenant of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office and turns around in pursuit.
00:45 The pickup truck is seen swerving over the fog line, into the shoulder, then back left over the center line.
1:00 Filipiak pulls his truck to the side of the road as he passes a Michigan DNR officer who was also responding to the 9-1-1 calls for a reckless driver.
1:20 Deputy Morrison approaches the driver
1:27 BODYCAM FOOTAGE BEGINS - The assisting DNR officer can be seen on the other side of the truck.
2:54 Deputy Morrison returns to the truck to have Filipiak take a field sobriety test.
11:50 Deputy Morrison beings to physically remove Filipiak from the truck.
13:25 Deputy Morrison and the assisting DNR office attempt to pull Filipiak from the truck.
13:48 Deputy Morrison warns Filipiak he’ll be tasered if he does not exit the truck.
16:53 Filipiak is placed under arrest.
20:08 Filipiak states he wants a “Cop to a Cop” deal
21:17 Both officers struggle to get Filipiak in the back seat of the police cruiser.
Cop arrested for driving with THREE times the legal blood alcohol limit
Flashed his badge and pleaded with responding deputies before he was threatened with a Taser
Brian Filipiak, a lieutenant in Washtenaw County, Michigan, was pulled over in November in Montmorency County more than 200 miles away
Police received two reports of a truck that nearly hit several vehicles and almost ran off the road several times, according to an incident report
Filipiak showed responding cops he was a cop and insisted he could 'sleep it off'
He did not comply with their orders to get out of the truck and resisted the two cops who tried to pull him out until he was threatened with a Taser
An open bottle of vodka was recovered in the back seat, incident report stated
Filipiak had blood alcohol content of 0.28 and 0.27 - legal limit is 0.08
A sheriff's deputy who was arrested for drunk driving flashed his badge and pleaded with the responding officers to let him go, insisting that he could just 'sleep it off'.
Lieutenant Brian Filipiak of Washtenaw County, Michigan, refused a sobriety test after he was pulled over in Montmorency County more than 200 miles away from his home.
A video captured by a responding deputy's body camera shows the cops trying to pull Filipiak out of the car until one officer threatened to taser him.
An open bottle of vodka was recovered in the back seat, and Filipiak was found well over the limits of 0.08 with a blood alcohol content of 0.28 and 0.27, according to an incident report.
Deputy Zachery Morrison received two reports of a truck that nearly hit several vehicles and almost ran off the road several times, according to an incident report.
Filipiak was soon pulled over, and when the cops asked for his driver's license and ID, he also showed them that he was a police officer.
An officer can be heard saying: 'Brian, I'm going to have you step out of the car and do some field sobriety tests.'
When Filipiak was told he couldn't just stay in his car like he asked, he threw his head back in frustration and continued to plead with the cops.
At one point, the officers could be seen trying to pull Filipiak from the car before he was threatened with a taser.
It was then that Filipiak complied and stepped out of the vehicle. Deputies noted that he was staggering, swaying from side to side, and slurring his words, the incident report stated.
Filipiak refused to take sobriety tests, and was arrested and taken back to the sheriff's office, where his blood alcohol content registered at 0.28 and 0.27.
Morrison said in the report: 'During the entire investigation, Brian was very uncooperative. Brian would try and use that he is a Lieutenant for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office to try and persuade me by letting him go.'
Filipiak received a citation for Operating While Intoxicated and has been placed on administrative leave.
Washtenaw sheriff's lieutenant accused of 'super drunk' driving
A Montmorency County Sheriff's Department report shows Lt. Brian Filipiak, 47, was found to have a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit for driving after his arrest on Nov. 13 in Rust Township.
In the report, arresting officer Deputy Zachery Morrison said Filipiak had an open bottle of vodka in his backseat and had to be threatened with a Taser to follow commands.
"During the entire investigation, Brian was very uncooperative," Morrison said in his report. "Brian would try and use that he is a Lieutenant for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office to try and persuade me by letting him go (sic)."
Filipiak now faces one count of misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more. Filipiak registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.28 and 0.27 percent on breath tests, according to the report.
Michigan's legal limit for blood-alcohol content while driving is 0.08 percent, and stiffer penalties are in place for those who have a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more under the state's so-called "super drunk" driving law.
Filipiak and his attorney could not be reached for comment.
Dispatchers received multiple 911 calls for reckless driving about 1:18 p.m. Nov. 13 in the area of M-33 near Lockwood Road, with the truck in question reported as almost hitting several vehicles and almost going off the road, Morrison said in his report.
Based on the license plate number and description of the suspect vehicle, Morrison was able to find the vehicle driving on eastbound M-32, west of Ulshaffer Road, he reported. The vehicle could not maintain one lane of travel and veered into gravel on the shoulder of the road before Morrison conducted a traffic stop. He reported he then saw the driver, Filipiak, reach around to the back passenger seat.
When Morrison approached, he asked Filipiak for his driver's license, registration and proof of insurance, he said in the report.
"Brian first showed me a badge and a police ID from Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department," Morrison stated. "As Brian was showing me his police ID, Brian was having a hard time sitting still. I could also smell a strong odor of intoxicants emitting from inside the vehicle."
Morrison said that Filipiak didn't answer when asked why he reached around to the backseat when he was stopped, but Department of Natural Resources Officer Brad Belleville, who was assisting Morrison, spotted an open container of vodka in the backseat, the report states.
Morrison said Filipiak told him he was traveling to his deer camp near Rogers City and refused to get out of his truck to take field sobriety tests, the report states.
"Brian kept stating that he would, 'Just sleep it off,'" according to the report.
Morrison and Belleville had to open the vehicle door and grab Filipiak to attempt to get him out of the truck, but Filipiak only got out when Morrison pulled out his Taser, according to the report. However, Filipiak still refused to take field sobriety tests and refused to place his hands behind his back to be handcuffed - Morrison and Belleville forced his hands instead, the report indicates. He also refused to get into Morrison's patrol car, and was eventually forced inside, the report said.
He was described in the police report as swaying side to side while standing, having slurred speech, and staggering while walking during his encounter with Morrison.
Once at the Montmorency County jail, Filipiak was administered a breath test three times, because "he kept on stopping to blow on the second test," Morrison reported.
Derrick Jackson on the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office confirmed Filipiak is on unpaid administrative leave while an internal investigation into the incident takes place. An internal investigation could result in any number of outcomes, up to termination, he said.
Jackson said the department does not comment on personnel matters, which Sheriff Jerry Clayton reiterated in a statement released Monday, Dec. 19.
"I am extremely disappointed in this situation," Clayton said, according to the statement. "However, I am not commenting on an ongoing investigation. I anticipate commenting at the conclusion of the investigation and final organizational action."
Filipiak has been employed with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office for 21 years. He faces imprisonment of up to 180 days, a fine between $200 and $700, and up to 360 hours of community service.
According Montmorency County court records, Filipiak is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Jan. 6, 2017, in Montmorency County's 88-2 District Court.
He was released from jail on Nov. 14 after posting 10 percent of his $3,000 bond, records show.
Video shows drunken-driving arrest of Washtenaw police lieutenant
RUST TOWNSHIP, MI - Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Lt. Brian Filipiak pleaded with his arresting officer for more than 10 minutes before being forcefully removed from his truck with a Taser pointed at him when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in November, police body camera footage shows.
Filipiak, 47, registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.28 and 0.27 percent on breath tests after being arrested on Nov. 13 in Rust Township in northern Michigan, according to a Montmorency County Sheriff's Department report written by his arresting officer, Deputy Zachery Morrison.
Now, Filipiak is on unpaid administrative leave pending internal investigation by his department. He also faces a charge of misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more.
Morrison pulled Filipiak over about 1:18 p.m. Nov. 13 on eastbound M-32, west of Ulshaffer Road after multiple people called 911 about reckless driving in the area, Morrison stated in his report.
Morrison said Filipiak was uncooperative, had an open bottle of vodka in his backseat and had to be threatened with a Taser to follow commands. He also said in his report that Filipiak repeatedly attempted to use his position as a lieutenant to persuade Morrison to let him go.
The body camera footage, as well as in-car video footage obtained from the Montmorency County Sheriff's Department, shows Filipiak repeatedly asked to be allowed to continue on or "sleep it off."
In the video, his pleas continued while standing outside the patrol vehicle, after resisting being handcuffed, where Morrison explained that Filipiak would be taken to the county jail so a breath test could be administered or a search warrant for his blood would be obtained.
"Alright so, let's make a deal, 'kay?" Filipiak said on the video.
When questioned by Morrison, who repeatedly expressed frustration with Filipiak putting a fellow officer in the position to have to arrest him, about what kind of deal he meant, Filipiak responded, "A cop to a cop, that's what the deal's about."
Shortly after, Morrison and Department of Natural Resources Officer Brad Belleville forced the resistant Filipiak into the patrol vehicle.
Michigan's legal limit for blood-alcohol content while driving is 0.08 percent, but stiffer penalties are in place for individuals whose blood-alcohol level is 0.17 or more under the state's so-called "super drunk" law.
If convicted under the "super drunk" law, Filipiak faces imprisonment of up to 180 days, a fine between $200 and $700, and up to 360 hours of community service.
Filipiak has been employed with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office for 21 years. According Montmorency County court records, he is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Jan. 6, 2017, in Montmorency County's 88-2 District Court. He was released from jail on Nov. 14 after posting 10 percent of his $3,000 bond.
Filipiak, his attorney and the Montmorency County prosecutor could not be reached for comment.
Sheriff’s lieutenant accused of ‘super drunk’ driving
Ann Arbor News, The (MI)
December 25, 2016
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/
RUST TOWNSHIP — Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Brian Filipiak pleaded with his arresting officer for more than 10 minutes before being forcefully removed from his truck with a Taser pointed at him when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in November, police body camera footage shows.
Filipiak, 47, registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.28 and 0.27 percent on breath tests after being arrested Nov. 13 in Rust Township in northern Michigan, according to a Montmorency County Sheriff’s Department report written by his arresting officer, Deputy Zachery Morrison.
Now, Filipiak is on unpaid administrative leave pending internal investigation by his department. He also faces a charge of misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more.
Morrison pulled Filipiak over at 1:18 p.m. Nov. 13 on eastbound M-32, west of Ulshaffer Road after several people called 911 about reckless driving in the area, Morrison said in his report.
Morrison said Filipiak was uncooperative, had an open bottle of vodka in his backseat and had to be threatened with a Taser to follow commands. He also said in his report that Filipiak repeatedly attempted to use his position as a lieutenant to persuade Morrison to let him go.
In the video, his pleas continued while standing outside the patrol vehicle, after resisting being handcuffed, where Morrison explained that Filipiak would be taken to the county jail so a breath test could be administered or a search warrant for his blood would be obtained.
“All right. So, let’s make a deal, ’kay?” Filipiak said on the video.
When questioned by Morrison, who repeatedly expressed frustration with Filipiak putting a fellow officer in the position to have to arrest him, about what kind of deal he meant, Filipiak responded, “A cop to a cop, that’s what the deal’s about.”
Michigan’s legal limit for blood-alcohol content while driving is 0.08 percent, but stiffer penalties are in place for individuals whose blood-alcohol level is 0.17 percent or more under the state’s so-called “super drunk” law.
If convicted under the “super drunk” law, Filipiak faces imprisonment of up to 180 days, a fine from $200 to $700, and up to 360 hours of community service.
Filipiak has been employed with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office for 21 years. According Montmorency County court records, he is scheduled for a pretrial conference Jan. 6 in Montmorency County’s 88-2 District Court. He was released from jail Nov. 14 after posting 10 percent of his $3,000 bond.
Filipiak, his attorney and the Montmorency County prosecutor could not be reached for comment.
Washtenaw sheriff's lieutenant takes plea in 'super drunk' driving case
RUST TOWNSHIP, MI - A lieutenant from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office has pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated in connection with a drunken-driving arrest in northern Michigan.
Lt. Brian Filipiak, 47, was charged with misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more for an incident on Nov. 13, 2016, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge on Friday, Jan. 27, according to Montmorency County's 88-2 District Court office.
Filipiak was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.28 and 0.27 percent - more than three times the legal limit for driving - during breath tests after his November arrest, a police report showed.
Body camera footage of the arrest showed Filipiak resisted arrest that day and his arresting officer stated in his report that "Brian would try and use that he is a Lieutenant for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office to try and persuade me by letting him go (sic)."
Michigan's legal limit for blood-alcohol content while driving is 0.08 percent, and stiffer penalties are in place for those with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more under the state's so-called "super drunk" driving law.
No information on Filipiak's scheduled sentencing was immediately available and his attorney and the Montmorency County prosecutor could not be reached for comment Monday.
Filipiak remains on unpaid leave as an internal investigation takes place, said Derrick Jackson of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office.
The department has declined to comment further on the matter while it remains under investigation. Jackson said the time frame of the investigation is dictated by the department's labor contract.
Misdemeanor operating while intoxicated is punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine. Conviction under the "super drunk" law is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $700 fine.
Sheriff’s lieutenant pleads guilty
Ann Arbor News, The (MI)
February 1, 2017
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/
RUST TOWNSHIP — A lieutenant from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office has pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated in connection with a drunken-driving arrest in northern Michigan.
Sheriff’s Lt. Brian Filipiak, 47, was charged with misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more for an incident Nov. 13, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge Friday, according to Montmorency County’s 88-2 District Court office.
Filipiak was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.28 and 0.27 percent — more than three times the legal limit for driving —during breath tests after his arrest, police report show.
Body camera footage of the arrest showed Filipiak resisted arrest. His arresting officer reported, “Brian would try and use that he is a lieutenant for the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office to try and persuade me by letting him go (sic).”
Michigan’s legal limit for blood-alcohol content while driving is 0.08 percent, and stiffer penalties for those with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more under the state’s so-called “super drunk” driving law.
No information on Filipiak’s scheduled sentencing was immediately available, and his attorney and the Montmorency County prosecutor could not be reached for comment Monday.
Filipiak remains on unpaid leave during an internal investigation, said Derrick Jackson, of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.
The department has declined to comment further on the matter while it remains under investigation. Jackson said the time frame of the investigation is dictated by the department’s labor contract.
Officer caught drunk driving loses badge, stays with sheriff's office
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - A lieutenant from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office who pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated in northern Michigan has lost his title and position as a sworn police officer.
Brian Filipiak, 47, is still employed by the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, but "he is no longer a lieutenant, holds no command responsibility, and is no longer a sworn law enforcement officer," according to an emailed statement from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office.
The decision follows an internal investigation into Filipiak's drunken driving arrest on Nov. 13, 2016, in Montmorency County's Rust Township.
Filipiak was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.28 and 0.27 percent - more than three times the legal limit for driving - during breath tests after his November arrest, a police report showed.
Body camera footage showed Filipiak resisted arrest and his arresting officer stated that "Brian would try and use that he is a Lieutenant for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office to try and persuade me by letting him go (sic)," in his report.
Washtenaw sheriff's lieutenant takes plea in 'super drunk' driving case
Filipiak initially was charged with misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more for the incident, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of operating while intoxicated on Jan. 27, according to Montmorency County's 88-2 District Court office. He scheduled for sentencing on March 3.
The county prosecutor could not be reached for comment.
Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton commended the Montmorency County Sherriff's Office deputy who handled the case for the quality of his work, and condemned Filipiak's actions, according to the statement.
"Whether a community member or police services professional, one cannot view the video of this off-duty incident and not be extremely disappointed," Clayton said. "Such conduct in no way reflects the values of the Sheriff's Office or the behaviors that we expect from our staff. It dishonors the exceptional and compassionate service provided daily by members of the Sheriff's Office and other police service professionals."
Clayton declined further comment.
Filipiak was placed on unpaid administrative leave during the internal investigation and is now employed on a conditional basis working in a support capacity at reduced compensation, according to the department.
Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office spokesman Derrick Jackson said support roles include managing property, supplies and equipment, and a number of other duties. Filipiak's duties will be assigned by the police services commander.
Filipiak is now being compensated at the level of a deputy, Jackson said.
Washtenaw County Sheriff's lieutenants were paid $79,017.23 in 2016 and deputies were paid between $41,903.88 and $62,917.78, according to the county's 2016 Salary Report.
When asked about the decision to retain Filipiak, Jackson said labor law provides for fair treatment through "due process considerations." He said that an employee's years of service and overall history would be taken into account, for example.
Filipiak has been employed with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office for 21 years.
Former officer arrested for 'super drunk' driving gets probation
ATLANTA, MI -- A former Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office lieutenant was sentenced Friday, March 3, to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service for drunken driving.
A northern Michigan judge also gave Brian Filipiak a 93-day deferred jail sentence, which means he will only serve the time if he violates probation.
Dressed in a black suit, Filipiak chose to let his attorney do the talking at the sentencing, which took place before 88-2 District Court Judge Benjamin Bolser in Atlanta, the seat of Montmorency County, where the former lieutenant was arrested last November.
"This trip to deer camp on Nov. 13 of last year has had a significant impact on my client's life," said Timothy Arner, Filipiak's Boyne City-based attorney. " ... He's accepted full responsibility for his actions. There's no one to blame but himself. He was thankful, and is thankful, that there were no injuries to anyone on that day or as the result of his driving."
Filipiak was arrested in Rust Township with a blood-alcohol level of 0.28 - more than three times the legal limit. A deputy's body camera footage showed Filipiak trying to talk his way out of the arrest based on his position as a lieutenant in Washtenaw County.
The incident took place for more than half an hour before authorities got the clearly inebriated Filipiak out of his truck and into the back of a patrol car.
Arner told Judge Bolser that Filipiak has acknowledged the deputy's fine police work during the arrest.
"He has contacted and complimented and commended the arresting officer in this case for his professionalism and how (Filipiak) was treated by him," Arner said.
Drunk Driving Arrest of Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Lt. Brian Filipiak
Filipiak was initially charged with misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more - commonly referred to as the "super drunk" law. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of operating while intoxicated on Jan. 27, according to court records.
Since the arrest, Filipiak has undergone extensive alcohol rehabilitation, according to Arner.
The terms of his probation include no drinking and frequent alcohol testing. Judge Bolser also ordered Filipiak to perform 40 hours of community service and to pay $1,266 in fines and costs.
"This case is concerning to the court based on your background and your employment history ... and the very high level of blood alcohol content at the time. And the appearance of what occurred at the arrest," Bolser said before passing sentence. "I understand that this event, in essence, has destroyed your life. It ... has had everlasting effects, at least, on your career and on your status in your community, at least based on what I saw in this ... report. My hope is that this has brought you to realize that you have a severe alcohol addiction and a disease that you're going to have to (address) the rest of your life."
Filipiak has lost the title and pay of a lieutenant, but remains employed at the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office. He no longer is a sworn officer, the department said.
He was placed on unpaid administrative leave during the internal investigation and is now employed on a conditional basis working in a support capacity at reduced pay, officials said.
As a lieutenant, he was being paid in the ballpark of $79,000, but is now receiving deputy wages, officials said, which range from around $42,000 and $63,000, according to the county's salary report.
Filipiak and Arner did not have any comment about his sentencing on Friday.
Sheriff's officer stripped of badge has history with police and alcohol
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - A former Washtenaw County Sheriff's lieutenant sentenced Friday, March 3 for drunken driving has a history of run-ins with police related to alcohol consumption.
Brian Filipiak, 47, was sentenced to one year of probation, with a deferred jail sentence, for operating while intoxicated in connection with a drunken-driving arrest on Nov. 13, 2016, in northern Michigan. He initially was charged with misdemeanor operating while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 or more for the incident, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in January.
Though Filipiak remains employed in a support role at the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, he was stripped of his title as a lieutenant and sworn law enforcement officer after an internal investigation into the incident.
Police reports obtained by The Ann Arbor News show the November incident was not Filipiak's first contact with police involving alcohol use. Reports show there were at least two incidents in 2013.
Filipiak and his Boyne City-based attorney, Timothy Arner, declined to comment on the prior incidents when asked about them following the sentencing Friday.
Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton said the department was aware of the past incidents and investigated them and ordered corrective action as appropriate.
The first incident occurred about 12:30 a.m. July 21, 2013, at the United Airlines Baggage Service Office at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Drunk Driving Arrest of Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Lt. Brian Filipiak
Wayne County Airport Authority officials responded to a report that a juvenile girl was hiding in the office, an airport authority police report showed. The report includes two narratives - one written by Officer Thomas Zahina and one by a Lt. Tavtigian, whose first name was not included.
The girl had told a United employee that she was afraid of someone and told police that she was afraid to leave with her father, the report shows.
The portion of the report written by Zahina said the girl, who was crying and visibly shaken, told him she was supposed to get a ride home from the airport from her father, but thought he was acting strange and appeared intoxicated when she met him in the baggage claim area.
Zahina then approached Filipiak.
"It became immediately apparent that B. Filipiak was intoxicated," Zahina wrote. "There was an odor of intoxicants coming from his breath and his eyes appeared red and glossy. I asked how he got to the airport and he stated that he drove."
After advising Filipiak to arrange for he and his daughter to be picked up, Zahina asked for Filipiak's identification, Zahina wrote in the report. Filipiak repeatedly refused to hand it over and Zahina explained he faced arrest if he didn't comply, according to the report.
"B. Filipiak stated, 'You won't arrest me,' and 'You don't know who I am, do you?'" the report states.
Zahina then requested that another officer come to the location and two others, including Tavtigian, came, he said. A fourth official is later documented as being involved as well.
After further discussion, Filipiak turned over his identification, according to the report. A portion of the report following the reference to identification is redacted in both Zahina's and Tavtigian's statements.
Tavtigian conducted a pat-down of Filipiak, according to his portion of the report. He said Filipiak smelled of intoxicants and admitted to drinking "a few beers."
Filipiak also admitted to driving to the airport and parking at a parking deck, Tavtigian wrote.
Zahina eventually escorted the girl and her stepmother, who came to pick her up, out, according to the report. Zahina then ordered Filipiak to leave the area, but told him he would be arrested if he attempted to drive, Zahina wrote.
Tavtigian wrote that he asked if Filipiak had a credit card to take a taxi or if authorities could call someone for him, and Filipiak responded that he had a credit card and told him "not to worry about it."
Filipiak refused to cooperate and walked toward the parking deck, Tavtigian said. He said he conducted a search of the parking deck, but did not find Filipiak.
Zahina directed Filipiak toward ground transportation and Filipiak left in that direction, by Zahina's account.
"I briefly positioned my patrol vehicle near the parking deck exit to discourage B. Filipiak from driving out in his vehicle," Zahina wrote.
Filipiak appears on airport surveillance footage provided to The Ann Arbor News for about 43 minutes during the incident.
No documentation obtained by The News showed further contact with Filipiak that day.
In a second incident about 9:45 p.m. Nov. 1, 2013, police were called to a home in Pinckney for a reported verbal domestic situation, a police report obtained from the Pinckney Police Department shows. The responding officer, Officer Nate Watson, interviewed Filipiak and his wife separately at the home, according to audio recording from a dashboard camera.
Filipiak can be heard on the recording introducing himself and telling Watson that he and his wife were going through marital problems and that he was a cop from Washtenaw County.
"So, I've had some beers, I'm not going to deny that," he said.
He also told Watson that the argument had not gotten physical and, when asked, said there had not been prior domestic incidents requiring police response to the home.
Filipiak's wife can be heard telling Watson that her husband was seeking alcohol treatment. However, she said he had left the home and come back, was "obviously drunk" that night and wouldn't leave when asked. She claimed Filipiak was being verbally abusive.
When Watson asked about prior incidents, Filipiak's wife said a report had been filed at an airport when Filipiak showed up "highly intoxicated." She asked that a preliminary breath test be done, but Watson said it wouldn't make a difference, because no crime was committed.
She indicated that she did not believe the argument would become physical, but wanted Filipiak to leave and didn't think anyone would let him stay with them.
Watson said officials would typically hope to separate a couple for the night, under the circumstances, but said Filipiak wouldn't be able to go somewhere else on his own accord.
"If he's been drinking - I mean, I can smell it on him - he definitely can't be driving," Watson said.
Filipiak indicated he would immediately go to bed.
The interaction with the couple lasted about eight minutes, according to the audio recording. The case was then closed.
Filipiak has been employed with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office for 21 years.
Sheriff Clayton reiterated Friday that Filipiak's actions in the November incident were "unacceptable."
"I am far from comfortable with the incident," he said. "I am far from comfortable with the situation - I'm angered, disappointed and I'm frustrated, but I am more than comfortable with the corrective response that we've put in place, given the circumstance that we had to navigate."
All aspects of employment, including time with the department, past incidents and severity of the situation, are taken into account in corrective action determinations, he said.
He said he could not comment on specific personnel issues or what action was taken in prior incidents, but said when the public or anyone is reviewing the matter, it's important to recognize opinions may differ based on the amount of information known.
"We don't ignore behavior that doesn't meet our expectations," he said. "None of us get a free pass."
