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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

[IN] Despite young daughters' reported rug burns, IMPD Police Officer Andrew Dodds cleared of 3 felonies and suing the city

CLEARED OF FOUR FELONIES RELATED TO BATTERY OF HIS VISTING 11 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER (NOW PORTRAYED AS A RUG BURNED LIAR) INDIANAPOLIS POLICE OFFICER ANDREW DODDS IS SUING FOR DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER.

2009:
..."(He was) dragging her off the couch, dragging her over the carpeted floor, giving her a rug burn," said Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Helen Marchal. "She then left, went into her bedroom. Dodds then continued the violence by putting her in a choke hold, his hands around her neck, and lifted her off the floor"... She fled to a neighbor's house after climbing out her bedroom window... He's charged with battery on a minor, battery on a minor with a family member present that's under the age of 16 and strangulation. All are 'D' Felonies... but his estranged wife, Heather, was visibly shaken as she testified that Andrew is a good father, but needs counseling...

2011:
...But charges against him were dropped, and he is back at work in the Northwest District as a patrolman... Dodds' attorney, Pete Rosenthal, said the arrest sullied Dodds' reputation among his peers and neighbors. "It was very emotional," he said. "He was embarrassed and none of it was true." Rosenthal said Dodds and his wife were in the midst of a divorce and the child made up the allegations that he abused her...

One of the articles below states, "Several officers were in court in support of Dodds..." That is hard enough to hear about when it is a wife sitting on the other side of the courtroom, but the officers were there against an 11 year old little girl with abrasions on her back?

NEWS EXCERPTS FROM FEBRUARY 2009, FOLLOWED BY NEWS FROM FEBRUARY 2011

IMPD OFFICER ACCUSED OF ATTACKING DAUGHTER
By Joe Wambach
2/13/2009
[Excerpts] A Metro police officer has been arrested on charges of assaulting his 11- year-old daughter. Officer Andrew Dodds, 35, is accused of dragging the girl off a couch and down a hall and choking her after she spilled milk on the couch. IMPD Lt. Jeffrey Duhamell said Dodds is apprently having some marital problems and the girl was upset over some of the things he said about her mother. Police investigated a domestic disturbance involved Dodds and his wife about three weeks ago. Dodds is being held on $100,000 bond and has been suspended without pay. He's charged with battery on a minor, battery on a minor with a family member present that's under the age of 16 and strangulation. All are 'D' Felonies. Chief Michael Spears is recommending that Dodds be taken before the merit board for termination... [Full article here]

IMPD OFFICER FORMALLY CHARGED IN ATTACK ON DAUGHTER
By Stan Lehr
2/17/2009
[Excerpts] Metro Police Officer Andrew Dodds has been formally charged with strangulation and battery, in an attack on his 11-year-old daughter. Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi notes that two other small children were present. The probable cause affadavit indicates Dodds became upset when the girl spilled milk on his couch. When she refused to go to her room, Dodds started dragging and strangling her. She fled to a neighbor's house after climbing out her bedroom window... [Full article here]

OFFICER CHARGED WITH STRANGULATION, BATTERY
Indianapolis Star
February 18, 2009
[Excerpts] ...IMPD suspended Andrew M. Dodds, 35, without pay pending termination after his arrest last week. He was still in the Marion County Jail on Tuesday on $100,000 bond... All of the three charges are Class D felonies that carry penalties of six months to three years in prison. Dodds’ altercation with his daughter Feb. 10 apparently stemmed from his pending divorce from her mother. The girl told police she refused to go to her room because Dodds was making negative comments about her mother, according to a probable cause affidavit. Dodds is accused of dragging her down the hallway by the feet, then shoving her against a wall and holding her by the neck. [Full article here]

OFFICER'S BOND REDUCED IN DAUGHTER STRANGULATION CASE: ESTRANGED WIFE: OFFICER GOOD FATHER
Indianapolis Star
February 18, 2009
[Excerpts] Bond was reduced Wednesday for an Indianapolis police officer who was arrested after allegedly battering his 11-year-old daughter last week... A Marion County judge reduced the bond to $7,500... Investigators said Dodds' 11- and 8-year-old daughters were visiting his home when he and the older girl got into an argument. The girl told police that her father was saying bad things about her mother and that she was defending her and then accidentally spilled milk on his couch. "(He was) dragging her off the couch, dragging her over the carpeted floor, giving her a rug burn," said Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Helen Marchal. "She then left, went into her bedroom. Dodds then continued the violence by putting her in a choke hold, his hands around her neck, and lifted her off the floor." Dodds declined to speak to reporters outside the courtroom, but his estranged wife, Heather, was visibly shaken as she testified that Andrew is a good father, but needs counseling... Several officers were in court in support of Dodds, who was ordered not to contact his estranged wife or the daughter. Judge Kimberly Brown, who presided over the hearing, said she doesn't think it was properly filed in domestic violence court. "We believe that the victim and the witnesses will be best served by the services that we can offer with our deputy prosecutors who are trained to the sensitivity of these issues, as well as our victim advocates who are here in the courtroom," Marchal said. [Full article here]

IMPD OFFICER FACES BATTERY CHARGES IN FIGHT WITH 11-YEAR-OLD
wthr.com/Eyewitness News
Steve Jefferson
Feb 24, 2009
[Excerpts] A Metro police officer is on the other side of the law after a family fight started - literally - over spilled milk. Police arrested him after a fight with an 11-year-old girl. Lt. Jeff Duhamell says it was a minor thing that got out of hand... Investigators say the Officer Dodds told them the under-aged family member grabbed him by the neck, so in return he grabbed her by the neck, possibly pinning her against the wall... During the alleged attack the young girl left the house through a window to go tell a neighbor what happened. "He is an adult and should not have done what he did. She is only 11. According to the eight-year-old she was acting out too against him. So it was a bad situation that got worse. I think the 11-year-old received some abrasions to her back," said Lt. Duhamell... [Full article here]

FEBRUARY 2011

IMPD OFFICER SUES EX-CHIEF OVER STATEMENTS: MARION COUNTY IMPD OFFICER SUES EX-CHIEF OVER STATEMENTS
Indianapolis Star
Feb. 15, 2011
[Excerpts] An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer who was indicted in the battery of his daughter and then cleared of the charges is suing the former police chief and two press officers for defamation of character. Officer Andrew Dodds claims in a federal lawsuit that his reputation was damaged and he suffered emotional distress because of statements made by then-Chief Michael Spears and his public information officers after his arrest in February 2009. Prosecutors charged Dodds... But charges against him were dropped, and he is back at work in the Northwest District as a patrolman. The lawsuit argues that Spears, Sgt. Paul Thompson and Lt. Jeffrey Duhamell made statements that implied Dodds was guilty... [Full article here]

IMPD OFFICER SUES FORMER POLICE CHIEF, PRESS OFFICERS
Indianapolis Star
Feb. 15, 2011
[Excerpts] ...Dodds' attorney, Pete Rosenthal, said the arrest sullied Dodds' reputation among his peers and neighbors. "It was very emotional," he said. "He was embarrassed and none of it was true." Rosenthal said Dodds and his wife were in the midst of a divorce and the child made up the allegations that he abused her. The lawsuit contends that Spears, Sgt. Paul Thompson and Lt. Jeffrey Duhamell made statements that implied Dodds was guilty. Rosenthal could not provide examples of the statements. He said he was brought the case only recently and rushed to file it before the two-year statute of limitations expired. "This is a family incident not involving anything to do with his police work on the street," Duhamell said then. "He's a stellar performer out there. Unfortunately, he stepped over the line." Duhamell and Thompson declined to comment. Spears could not be reached. Indianapolis Corporation Counsel Samantha Karn could also not be reached. Spears is no longer chief and Duhamell has transferred from the press office... [Full article here]
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7 comments:

  1. I have a blog in Indianapolis dealing with mothers who have lost their children to their abusers. I post a rerun of a story when this first happened (without any comment from myself), and now last night I had two of his supporters post comments on it last night that they don't want to see this public and one even swore. Have you gotten anything like this too? I don't plan to take the post down, it is still up at WRTV-6's website as my referring link will show. I think it is disgusting when they manage to wiggle out of these things, which is very easy to do in Indiana, they strike out at anyone who reported it. Sick. Sad.

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  2. To Mothers of Lost Children, do you mean for me to post what you sent as a comment? Just checking. The answer is no I haven't... but I get those all of the time. Some are scarier than others but I breathe and stay put.

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  3. Yes, please post the comment. I am not going to be bullied into pulling my post off my site. I still think something is there. I don't think the daughter is a liar. Things like this are swept under the rug too much here in Indianapolis.

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  4. AnonymousMay 16, 2015

    Now, if I could get this bozo to quit texting my wife...He doesn't "get" it!

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  5. Andrew Dodds is an abuser who gets away with it because IMPD covers for him. He will twist & turn any story as long as it makes him look innocent. This man is still on the streets, armed & dangerous. His 11 year old daughter was not his last victim, there are many more women out there who can testify to this.

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  6. AnonymousJune 22, 2020

    This man still abuses his powers. He not only abuses children, he abuses woman. I see the above statement clarifies this. This man should NOT work for my town.

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  7. I just re-read all the excerpts above and the argument that "stellar performer out there" - but can "step over the line" and be a domestic criminal at home doesn't make sense. If you are employed with the police department, have the powers of arrest and the authority to shoot people, you can't step over the lines of the law because you're emotional.and if you will assault your very own LITTLE GIRL there is no doubt as a officer that you would be willing to assault someone you care about even less.

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