Recording helps open investigation into Wilmington Police case

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington Police now say there is officially an internal affairs investigation into how officers handled the case of a man run over by a truck.

This is some of the conversation that has a pair of officers under the microscope.

“It says something about their character that they came in after what they say, not knowing that they hit somebody, that they came in on their own without us finding them,” an officer said.

After he was run over in the parking lot of Might As Well Bar and Grill, Wilmington Police questioned Vincent Iventosch in the hospital. Iventosch’s family recorded the conversation, a recording that has WPD taking a look at how the officers handled the situation.

Iventosch:”I wasn’t trying to be difficult. I was just-”

Officer One: “No no, you weren’t difficult. You were drunk and you got run over. No, you get a pass.”

However, the tone shifts quickly as the two officers say Iventosch and his friends started everything.

Officer One: “I think Stetson and that one guy said some words back.”

Officer Two: “More serious words other than just trash talking.”

Officer One: “Like, I’ll kick your a** or something like that.”

Iventosch said he was upset with how the officers described his friends when questioning him.

Officer One: “Who’s Dylan, the one with the glasses?”

Iventosch: “Yeah that’s the glasses.”

Officer Two: “Semi-gay guy…How I was describing everyone in the video, because I don’t know everybody: smarty pants, pain in the a**, red pants guys.”

Officer One: “Stetson.”

Officer Two: “Stetson. Dylan’s got kind of a light voice, so that’s why I’m calling him semi-gay guy.”

As to why no criminal charges were brought forward, District Attorney Ben David said in a statement, “Not every accident is a crime. The offense of felony hit-and-run requires proof that the driver knew or should have known that he (she) hit someone AND that physical injury likely occurred. Two of my senior prosecutors reviewed the case and determined that there was not sufficient evidence to prove all the elements of this offense beyond a reasonable doubt, so criminal charges were not warranted.”

If you would like to hear the whole recording, click here.