All charges dropped against man at center of case involving death of cop

CROWN POINT, Ind. – A judge has dropped charges against a Gary man who sparked a police chase in which an officer died when two patrol cars crashed.\nBernard D. Watkins, 27, was released from the Lake County Jail on Monday. He had been charged with carjacking, resisting law enforcement, auto theft and misdemeanor battery in the Aug. 12 crash that killed 28-year-old Patrolman Benjamin Wilcher.\nLake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. granted the request to drop the case on Monday. In their motion, prosecutors said they were unable to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.\nWatkins’ live-in girlfriend told investigators that he was driving her car when he became upset and began punching her, court documents said. She said he kicked her, pulled her from the car, then drove off and said he would be back “to shoot everybody up.” The woman told police that Watkins was armed.\nSoon after, officers spotted the car and tried to pull him over but the driver sped away. Patrolman Arthur Lemme said the car drove through a stop sign, after which Lemme’s cruiser collided with Wilcher’s at the city intersection.\nWilcher died at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, Ill., several days later. Lemme suffered a broken foot and ankle and a serious arm injury, court documents said.