OSP Releases Statement !
WSAZ TV3 out of Hutington, WV is streaming a 6 minute video released regarding the Ohio State Highway Patrol Car crash that killed a Gallia County resident and two Troopers.
The entire video can be seen here: http://www.wsaz.com/ on the web....
Looks like they might be taking some heat for releasing info BEFORE a complete investigation was completed....
The forensics will win out over unfounded accusations.
Here's the letter being sent out by the Trooper's Coalition:
(OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF THE OHIO STATE TROOPERS ASSOCIATION)
COLONEL IN FULL RETREAT ON RISNER ACCUSATIONS
OCTOBER 20, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement of Herschel M. Sigall
General Counsel, OSTA
After speaking directly with Colonel McClellan the Columbus Dispatch wrote on October 14, 2006, that the Colonel was “hurt and shaken”. The newspaper wrote, “Trooper Joshua Risner was intoxicated the morning of September 28 when he crashed his cruiser and died in a fiery two-vehicle collision.” The Dispatch (and later every news outlet in the state and nationally as a result of the Associated Press picking up the Dispatch story) quoted Colonel McClellan as saying that an autopsy fixed Risner’s blood-alcohol content at 0.08, the level at which one is presumed to be driving drunk in Ohio”. The Colonel said, “This is an unthinkable set of circumstances to find ourselves in. We hold ourselves to higher standards. It’s devastating”. The OHP Media Release of October 13, 2006 stated, “The Patrol has launched a separate but related investigation to determine when and where Risner could have ingested alcohol”
The OSTA was astounded by the stories and by the fact that the McClellan statements failed to speak to the issue of postmortem ethanol synthesis; failed to speak to the fact that the autopsy was conducted 60 hours following the death of our Trooper and following the effects such a delay has in decomposition of the body; failed to mention that the 0.08 could be accurate but could be wholly the result of postmortem ethanol synthesis. Following death in circumstances like the horrible crash and fire in the Gallia County accident it is not only possible it is probable that the alcohol taken from Trooper Risner’s heart some two and a half days after death contained alcohol that had been created following his death. How could such a story be released without the most important element of any scientific attempt to establish whether a recorded BAC represented ingested alcohol or alcohol created endogenously following death? Every medical examiner is told the critical importance of securing a case history whenever possible before trying to establish whether the alcohol was ingested or is a postmortem creation. The OHP did not attempt to establish a case history of Josh Risner’s activities on the night of his death. It simply rushed to judgment. Then it had the temerity to send out to all Posts editorials from other papers saying how the respect of the public for our OHP Troopers had been reduced due to the conduct of Trooper Risner.
The OSTA, and Josh’s fellow officers at Gallipolis, fought back by reciting the scientific evidence unreported by the OHP. Trooper Risner was a prime candidate not for driving DUI but for having alcohol in his body as a result of postmortem ethanol synthesis. It announced an investigation into the events surrounding Josh Risner’s tour of duty on the fateful night. It reported that Josh Risner had not had any alcohol to drink. It offered the facts to back up its position.
Today, Colonel McClellan is in the process of rushing video’s to each Post to be shown to OHP personnel. Accompanying the video is an IOC from the Colonel. In the IOC the Colonel says that; “The video further emphasizes we have not reached any conclusion on how alcohol was present in Tpr. Risner’s system, and makes it clear that because the investigation is still ongoing, no one should draw their own conclusions at this point about how or why alcohol was present.”
The IOC goes on to say “We have first communicated new facts and information to the three families involved in this tragedy…we will continue this process until the investigation is completed and all questions are answered.” Finally the IOC from the Colonel states “I urge all Patrol personnel to be cautious in jumping to conclusions, or letting rumors cloud our judgment on the circumstances of this case.”
We know that Josh Risner did not drink on the evening of September 27, 2006 or in the early morning hours of September 28, 2006. We know why his “after death” blood alcohol was above 000. We have researched it, investigated it and shouted it to whomsoever would listen. The OHP is now sending out videos to lay the groundwork for a later determination that Josh Risner was in fact the good and faithful Trooper we knew him to be. Our question is how does the Colonel propose to heal the suffering imposed upon the Risner family by vilifying him and defiling his reputation. What video will the Colonel present to Trooper John Risner, Ret., who has been struggling with the attack upon the reputation, memory and good name of his son? What video will be produced for Bridget Risner who was told by Worker’s Compensation that following the news stories of her husband’s driving per se DUI, she would not receive Workers Comp Survivor’s benefits for herself and her young children?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve/Gallia 911
steveh552 said:
WSAZ TV3 out of Hutington, WV is streaming a 6 minute video released regarding the Ohio State Highway Patrol Car crash that killed a Gallia County resident and two Troopers.
The entire video can be seen here: http://www.wsaz.com/ on the web....
Looks like they might be taking some heat for releasing info BEFORE a complete investigation was completed....
The forensics will win out over unfounded accusations.
Here's the letter being sent out by the Trooper's Coalition:
(OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF THE OHIO STATE TROOPERS ASSOCIATION)
COLONEL IN FULL RETREAT ON RISNER ACCUSATIONS
OCTOBER 20, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement of Herschel M. Sigall
General Counsel, OSTA
After speaking directly with Colonel McClellan the Columbus Dispatch wrote on October 14, 2006, that the Colonel was “hurt and shaken”. The newspaper wrote, “Trooper Joshua Risner was intoxicated the morning of September 28 when he crashed his cruiser and died in a fiery two-vehicle collision.” The Dispatch (and later every news outlet in the state and nationally as a result of the Associated Press picking up the Dispatch story) quoted Colonel McClellan as saying that an autopsy fixed Risner’s blood-alcohol content at 0.08, the level at which one is presumed to be driving drunk in Ohio”. The Colonel said, “This is an unthinkable set of circumstances to find ourselves in. We hold ourselves to higher standards. It’s devastating”. The OHP Media Release of October 13, 2006 stated, “The Patrol has launched a separate but related investigation to determine when and where Risner could have ingested alcohol”
The OSTA was astounded by the stories and by the fact that the McClellan statements failed to speak to the issue of postmortem ethanol synthesis; failed to speak to the fact that the autopsy was conducted 60 hours following the death of our Trooper and following the effects such a delay has in decomposition of the body; failed to mention that the 0.08 could be accurate but could be wholly the result of postmortem ethanol synthesis. Following death in circumstances like the horrible crash and fire in the Gallia County accident it is not only possible it is probable that the alcohol taken from Trooper Risner’s heart some two and a half days after death contained alcohol that had been created following his death. How could such a story be released without the most important element of any scientific attempt to establish whether a recorded BAC represented ingested alcohol or alcohol created endogenously following death? Every medical examiner is told the critical importance of securing a case history whenever possible before trying to establish whether the alcohol was ingested or is a postmortem creation. The OHP did not attempt to establish a case history of Josh Risner’s activities on the night of his death. It simply rushed to judgment. Then it had the temerity to send out to all Posts editorials from other papers saying how the respect of the public for our OHP Troopers had been reduced due to the conduct of Trooper Risner.
The OSTA, and Josh’s fellow officers at Gallipolis, fought back by reciting the scientific evidence unreported by the OHP. Trooper Risner was a prime candidate not for driving DUI but for having alcohol in his body as a result of postmortem ethanol synthesis. It announced an investigation into the events surrounding Josh Risner’s tour of duty on the fateful night. It reported that Josh Risner had not had any alcohol to drink. It offered the facts to back up its position.
Today, Colonel McClellan is in the process of rushing video’s to each Post to be shown to OHP personnel. Accompanying the video is an IOC from the Colonel. In the IOC the Colonel says that; “The video further emphasizes we have not reached any conclusion on how alcohol was present in Tpr. Risner’s system, and makes it clear that because the investigation is still ongoing, no one should draw their own conclusions at this point about how or why alcohol was present.”
The IOC goes on to say “We have first communicated new facts and information to the three families involved in this tragedy…we will continue this process until the investigation is completed and all questions are answered.” Finally the IOC from the Colonel states “I urge all Patrol personnel to be cautious in jumping to conclusions, or letting rumors cloud our judgment on the circumstances of this case.”
We know that Josh Risner did not drink on the evening of September 27, 2006 or in the early morning hours of September 28, 2006. We know why his “after death” blood alcohol was above 000. We have researched it, investigated it and shouted it to whomsoever would listen. The OHP is now sending out videos to lay the groundwork for a later determination that Josh Risner was in fact the good and faithful Trooper we knew him to be. Our question is how does the Colonel propose to heal the suffering imposed upon the Risner family by vilifying him and defiling his reputation. What video will the Colonel present to Trooper John Risner, Ret., who has been struggling with the attack upon the reputation, memory and good name of his son? What video will be produced for Bridget Risner who was told by Worker’s Compensation that following the news stories of her husband’s driving per se DUI, she would not receive Workers Comp Survivor’s benefits for herself and her young children?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve/Gallia 911
