Chicago DUI attorney comments on MADD eating its own

This Chicago DUI attorney has posted here, here, and here about cops being charged with DUI’s.  Still, she feels bad for this alleged offender:

August 13, Indianapolis, IN:

 David Bisard, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer charged with drunken driving and killing a motorcyclist, was once one of the area's most productive cops at nailing drunk drivers.

 As a member of the Noblesville Police Department in the late 1990s, Bisard received awards two years in a row from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and won commendations four years in a row.

 Now MADD has little sympathy for its former hero.

 "An offender is an offender, and we hope he gets treated like anyone else caught driving drunk," said a MADD national spokeswoman, Dorene Englert.

As Bisard made his first appearance in court on seven felony charges Thursday, two sides emerged. One, a sobbing, inebriated patrolman -- in shock and panicked -- at the scene of a deadly accident.

 The other, described by acquaintances and outlined in police records, was of an aggressive but level-headed, fearless and productive officer who lived cleanly in high school and never showed a hint of alcohol use professionally.

Life in the canine unit suited his personality perfectly, they said.

"Those guys chase violent felons around all day," said Bill Owensby, the Fraternal Order of Police president who served in the unit for nine years and knows Bisard. "You have to be in top shape, you can't be slacking, and you have to love hunting humans."

Bisard received several awards from the department, including a medal of valor for killing a bank robbery suspect who had ambushed him with an AK-47 in April. He has recorded more than 800 arrests in nine years with IMPD, according to records.

 Before joining IMPD, Bisard was one of the most efficient members of the Noblesville police, racking up 52 drunken-driving arrests from 1996 through 2001, said spokesman Lt. Bruce Barnes.

 An “offender, is an offender” just doesn’t cut it when you are talking about a decorated officer.  Why did this happen?  What lessons can we learn from this tragedy?  How can we avoid this happening to others in law enforcement?  What happened?  This is not to belittle the loss of life, but seriously sound bites don’t fit all occasions.  MADD dropped the ball on this one.