For at least an hour after Frank Jude Jr. was beaten, the off-duty Milwaukee police officers later charged in the crime and others were allowed to move freely in and out of the crime scene and talk to each other, according to witnesses and police sources. In contrast, three women who witnessed the beating were separated so they couldn't talk to each other and were not allowed to leave the crime scene. The on-duty supervisor in charge of the scene for that first hour on Oct. 24 - police Sgt. Corstan Court, who had only nine months in that job - failed to follow the basic police protocol to preserve a crime scene that is set by state Department of Justice guidelines. The scene changed once the department's internal investigators arrived at S. Ellen St. in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood, according to witnesses and police sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The off-duty officers were separated and interviewed, the street where Jude was kicked and punched was closed, and evidence in a pool of Jude's blood was collected. But even then the scene was not handled as carefully as called for in police procedures from the state. In combing the scene for evidence, investigators missed Jude's diamond earring in the blood. The mother of a witness found it and gave it to a detective. Also, the president of the police union at the time, Bradley DeBraska, was allowed to enter the crime scene and advised officers not to speak to internal investigators or let them into an officer's home.