CPD waits for reports on man hit by officer

The officer involved in the death returned to work after a week's leave.

By Juana Summers

Published April 14, 2009

The Columbia Police Department officer who hit a man with his car returned to work Thursday.

CPD Capt. Zim Schwartze said officer Alan Mitchell returned to work at the police department in a "light duty" capacity after spending a week on administrative leave.

Mitchell was driving west on Clark Lane when he ran over Jeremy W. Setzer, 24, who was in the westbound lane, a CPD news release stated.

When Setzer was run over, his wife was near the couple's car on Lambeth Drive. She told officers Setzer was out of the car walking the couple's dog. Setzer died at the scene.

The accident took place seven miles away from the couple's home on East Bonne Femme Church Road.

Joint investigations by the traffic and professional standards units of the police department are still underway, Schwartze said.

"We are still waiting for a toxicology report," Schwartze said. "We're still analyzing and trying to do various estimates at the scene itself."

The Traffic Unit will also review the road conditions at the time of the accident, as well as the in-car camera in Mitchell's vehicle at the time of the crash.

The traffic and joint investigations both require toxicology reports to return, which could take up to eight weeks. Schwartze said the parallel investigations aren't likely to be completed until mid-May.