It took authorities over seven hours to draw blood from a cop after he mowed down a preacher's daughter in a Brooklyn street -- allegedly on a beer run -- according to a new report.
The delay, which was caused part because a doctor thought the accused officer's consent was necessary to draw blood, could poke serious holes in the prosecutor's case.
Brooklyn police officer Andrew Kelly, a seven-year veteran of the force, faces manslaughter and DWI charges in the death of 32-year-old Vionique Valnord, who was killed as she was trying to hail a cab at Old Mill Basin just before 12:45 a.m. Sunday.
Kelly and one of this three passengers, Officer Michael Downs, worked at the Yankees-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday in the Bronx before driving back to Brooklyn, where Kelly told cops he went to a bar, reports the Daily News. Then Kelly went to another bar, where he chugged up to eight beers, according to the paper.
The NYPD veteran stayed at the scene to try to help Valnord after he hit her, while Downs and the two other passengers fled. Authorities said Kelly's breath reeked of alcohol, his speech was slurred and he refused to take a Breathalyzer test. He also refused to allow responding officers to draw his blood.
"I'm not going to let that happen," Kelly said, a source familiar with the incident told the News. "You're going to have to tie me down."
Kelly's stubborn refusal to be tested was the first roadblock in the investigation. The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau called the Brooklyn district attorney's office at about 1:55 a.m. -- more than an hour after the crash. Cops proceeded with their interviews of the necessary subjects, and prosecutors called the home of Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Joseph Gubbay, who issued a warrant at 5:30 a.m. to have Kelly's blood tested for alcohol, reports the News.
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When the 30-year-old cop showed up at Kings County Hospital – the same place Valnord was pronounced dead -- just before 6 a.m. he refused to give blood. The doctor on call wrongly thought consent was required to draw blood so didn't take it.
After a rapid exchange of phone calls between Internal Affairs and prosecutors, a doctor finally drew Kelly's blood at about 8 a.m. – nearly seven and a half hours after the wreck, reports the News. The results of the blood tests have not been released.
The NYPD didn't comment on the test results, but a spokesman for the district attorney's office told the News that prosecutors "expect to be able to prove that his blood alcohol was above the legal limit."
Kelly, who works in Brooklyn's 68th Precinct, will likely lose his job because of the incident, sources told the News. His friend Downs, a four-year NYPD veteran in Brooklyn's 70th precinct, may lose his job, too. He was suspended late Sunday because he was in Kelly's car at the time of the accident and fled t he scene.
Valnord's father, Varius Valnord, who is a pastor at the Church of God in Brooklyn, delivered his sermon to nearly 100 congregants as scheduled Sunday, hours after his daughter's death.
"My heart is full of pain," he told the News. "I'll always miss her."
