A Bloomington police officer received a written reprimand for an incident in which is stated he hoped a stabbing victim "bleeds to death." (WJBC file photo)
By Terry James
BLOOMINGTON – The disciplinary action taken against a Bloomington police officer has been released.
Words from BPD Sgt. Ed Shumaker were played during a recent trial. Shumaker said he hoped a black male with a cut on his arm "bleeds to death."
Information received by WJBC from the City of Bloomington via Freedom of Information Act request showed Shumaker received a written reprimand which stated:
"Employee should be very aware of his surroundings and situational awareness while not allowing the stressor of an event to cause a comment that would be considered inappropriate."
City Manager David Hales assured WJBC's Scott Laughlin and Colleen Reynolds on Tuesday that that kind of behavior would not be tolerated.
"One thing I'd like to assure the public, that individual was disciplined," said Hales. "I've reviewed the discipline, and what was given, and it just wasn't anything minor."
Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner told WJBC's Tim Lewis he was not pleased with the punishment which was handed out.
"This is not at all what I would have expected," said Renner. "It's only six days ago I found out that this thing had even happened. This is really, really deeply disturbing."
Terry James can be reached at [email protected].
Adam Studzinski contributed to this report and can be reached at [email protected].