Officers hurt in crashes face hearings

Amber Willard

BURBANK -- Two Burbank police officers were slightly injured in

separate crashes and now face administrative review hearings in those

incidents.

Officer Steve Buteyn hit a utility pole on the south side of Clark

Street near Victory Boulevard when his car skidded out of control at

10:10 p.m. Monday. Buteyn’s accident report said he was driving to an

emergency call when his car slid on wet pavement. The front end of the

patrol car received major damage, including damage to its undercarriage,

and Buteyn sustained minor bruises and scrapes, Lt. Bob Giles said.

“He was going fast enough to lose control of the car at the turn, but

that does not mean he was speeding,” Giles said.

Officer Scott Meadows was chasing someone suspected of stealing a car

in the 1800 block of Rosita Avenue when he lost control of his car in the

intersection of Rosita Avenue and Parish Place at 2:41 a.m. Tuesday.

The suspected thief escaped and the patrol car received major damage

when it hit an unoccupied parked car, Giles said. Meadows received a

scrape to his arm when the air bag deployed.

“There will be an administrative review in both cases,” Giles said.

“Police administrators will review the facts to determine if the officers

acted in or out of policy.”

Police were investigating if either man was speeding at the time of

the accidents and at the hearings it will be decided that if speed was a

factor, whether it was justified, Giles said.

Buteyn has been with the department for 15 years and Meadows is in his

first year, but spent three years with another law enforcement agency.