INDIANAPOLIS -- Marion County prosecutors filed charges of OWI endangering a person and operating a vehicle with an ACE of .08 or more on Wednesday against former Fishers Police Chief Mitchell Thompson.
Thompson was arrested Friday evening after the vehicle he was driving slammed into the back of a Jeep Liberty near 96th Street and Keystone Avenue, causing the Jeep to strike a convertible before flipping onto its roof.
Three people were transported to the hospital for treatment as a result of the crash. Thompson was also transported to the hospital, where a portable breath test determined he had a BAC of 0.126.
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According to a probable cause affidavit filed Wednesday, Thompson told police he had been attending a function in downtown Indianapolis where he had consumed three cocktails.
On Monday, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness released a statement saying he and Thompson had agreed the latter needed to step down as police chief, effective immediately.
In his own statement, Thompson said stepping down was the first step in taking responsibility for his actions.
"I deeply regret having to take this action, but realize stepping down as the chief executive officer of this department is an important first step in taking responsibility for my actions," Thompson said. "I love the community of Fishers, and have strived my professional career to make it a place we that can all be proud of. I apologize to you, the men and women of the Fishers Police Department, and the citizens of this city for failing to meet the professional standards that I try to set for myself."
Fadness said Thompson, who remains with the department as a sergeant, will be subjected to the statutory disciplinary process through the city’s Merit Commission. Thompson has said he intends to cooperate with the departmental investigation.
An initial hearing for the charges against Thompson was scheduled for Aug. 16. As of this writing, no lawyer was listed as representing Thompson.
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