2nd Batavia Police Officer Suspended for
Separate Crash
Another Batavia police
officer has received a suspension following a crash last month involving some
police vehicles.
Officer Thomas Doggett has
received an unpaid two-day suspension, said Dan Eul, Batavia deputy police
chief. The suspension will occur at the end of the month.
According to a crash
report, Doggett was behind the wheel of the at-fault vehicle in an April 12
crash on Batavia's west side. Doggett's police SUV made contact twice with a
Batavia squad car at the intersection of Lincoln and Houston streets.
The vehicles were en route
to an emergency call. Doggett slowed down but did not stop at a stop sign at
the intersection, according to a crash report.
Doggett has been with the
Batavia Police Department since 1997. This is not Doggett's first time in a
traffic crash. He was behind the wheel of an at-fault vehicle in the year 2000,
according to Eul.
Doggett did not appeal his
suspension to the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. No citations were
issued as a result of the April 12 crash, Eul said.
Crashes involving police
officers are not common. Eul said the last crash involving the Batavia
department was about two years ago.
Civilian drivers are to
yield the right-of-way and immediately drive as close as possible to the
right-hand edge of curb of the roadway for a police vehicle making use of an
audible or visual signal, according to Sec. 11-907 of the Illinois Vehicle
Code, part of the state's Rules of the Road.
"(Sec. 11-907) shall
not operate to relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the
duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the
highway," according to the code.
The Other Officer
Suspension
The April 12 crash was the
second in less than a month for Batavia Police. Officer Scott Mercil was behind
the wheel of the at-fault vehicle in a March 30 crash on Batavia's west side, according
to a crash report.
Mercil was preparing to
pull another vehicle over and followed behind the vehicle as it turned left
from southbound Randall Road onto eastbound McKee Street. Mercil was then
struck by a northbound pickup truck after he drove into the intersection,
according to the report.
Mercil received a 12-hour
suspension following the crash. He has already served the suspension, Eul said.
No serious injuries were
reported in either crash.
The Crash Vehicles
The Police Department's
insurance carrier declared all three police vehicles involved in the crashes to
be total losses. One was based upon the age of the vehicle; the other two were
based upon the damages.
The oldest vehicle involved
was a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV in the April 12 crash, according to a crash
report. The other vehicles were Ford Crown Victorias, one from 2009 in the
March 30 crash and the other from 2011 in the April 12 crash.
The police SUV will be
replaced with a city vehicle of the same year, make and model (1999 Chevy Tahoe).
The city vehicle was recently removed from fleet service at the Batavia Fire
Department, Eul said.
The department hopes to
replace the other two vehicles with additional purchases through a budget
supplemental, but that has not been confirmed.
The reports for the two
crashes listed damage to any one vehicle of more than $1,500.