Former police chief gets 1 year suspended for OWI

GOSHEN — A former chief of the Elkhart Police Department has received a one-year suspended jail sentence after admitting to driving while intoxicated.

Laura Koch, 53, was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a Class A misdemeanor, after she was arrested by the Indiana State Police on April 8. An ISP patrolman stopped her vehicle after seeing it cross the center line on C.R. 17 near Hoffman Street shortly after 7 p.m.

Koch showed signs of intoxication but denied drinking any alcohol, according to police. A partial breath test was done at the scene and a blood test was taken at the jail after she was booked.

Koch entered a plea agreement in Elkhart County Superior Court 4 about three weeks after her arrest. The terms include 365 days of jail time, suspended to probation, minus four days of credit for time spent incarcerated before bonding out.

Koch was also required to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and follow up with any recommendations. She received a 30-day driver’s license suspension.

The court authorized her to travel outside of Indiana for employment and for volleyball tournaments.

Koch was promoted in 2014 to chief of the Elkhart Police after 12 years with the department. She more recently held the rank of lieutenant and is now employed with the department in a civilian capacity working with records.

She is not a law enforcement officer in her current role.