Call it political wish fulfillment or jumping at proverbial ghosts, but a rumor has been floating around certain parts of the community over the summer concerning Kokomo Police Officer David Trine.

A traffic stop he made on or about July 17 involving employees of KipCor, the development company responsible for many of the downtown improvements of the past year, raised eyebrows. And when Trine found himself sidelined from special duty as a motorcycle patrolman weeks later, pessimistic minds sought to connect the two incidents.

The truth, according to Kokomo Police Chief Rob Baker, is somewhat different that what the rumors portray.

According to Baker, Trine allegedly witnessed a KipCor truck leaving a worksite and travelling to a property on East Taylor Street, where the employees resided. Trine approached the employees, asked for identification, and cited them for not having a driver’s license.

This account is verified by dispatch recordings of the incident, in which Trine requests a ticket book and then a tow truck to remove the offending trailer. The recordings can be heard this week at kokomoperspective.com. Trine did, indeed, issue a citation, and it was paid by KipCor, settling the violation. But the tow truck was called off by Trine at the request of Baker.

“Towing a vehicle is left to officer discretion; it isn’t required,” said Baker. “Sometimes, we give the owners a break, do them a favor, and we don’t tow. That’s what I asked Dave to do. I didn’t order him to call off the traffic stop or not write the ticket.

“If someone is out there saying Rob Baker told an officer to call off a traffic stop, that’s not true.”

According to Baker, his request not to tow was the extent of the incident. The rumor, however, differs. Weeks later, Trine was removed from motorcycle detail, and the more negative interpretation is that he was removed by the chief as retribution for the earlier traffic stop. Again, Baker’s account differs greatly.

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“You know I rode motorcycles for the department ever since we brought back the unit,” said Baker. “We hadn’t updated some of our equipment since the beginning. The helmets we assigned were old, and they weren’t safe for duty anymore. So, at the beginning of the year, we bought new helmets for the guys.”

Baker explained that there were some compatibility issues with the new helmets and the communications devices used by the officers that needed to be worked out. Trine didn’t like the new helmets.

“He refused to wear the new helmet,” said Baker. “I had, I think, three different conversations with him, and I told him it is a liability issue. We can’t have you out there with an outdated helmet that isn’t safe for duty.”

Trine’s resistance to the change elevated to the point that it created conflict. He approached Lt. Heath Haalck about motorcycle escort duties, refusing to wear the new helmets because they lacked radio equipment. According to Baker, that is when action had to be taken.

“After being approached by Trine several times Lt. Haalck contacted me about Trine’s dissatisfaction with the helmets,” said Baker. “Trine stated many times that he felt ‘unsafe.

“It’s like this, if you’re refusing to ride the motorcycle with the right equipment, you aren’t riding the motorcycle. We took him off the detail.”

Trine declined comment for the story. According to Rule 26 of the Kokomo Police Department’s operations manual, officers are prohibited from speaking to the press.