Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger w officers in a tribute to Officer #NoahLeotta pic.twitter.com/wzZinBFIRY
— Kate Ryan (@KateRyanWTOP) December 10, 2015Moco Officers line up for tribute to Officer #Leotta pic.twitter.com/8KTbhKPvbt
— Kate Ryan (@KateRyanWTOP) December 10, 2015Montgomery County Police Chief Manger with Officer #NoahLeotta family members. pic.twitter.com/HxzD8bfF2b
— Kate Ryan (@KateRyanWTOP) December 10, 2015Montgomery County Police Chief Manger with Members of Officer #NoahLeotta 's family outside Wheaton Police Dist pic.twitter.com/bpmA8t8tzz
— Kate Ryan (@KateRyanWTOP) December 10, 2015Honor guard tribute in front of @mcpnews Wheaton District where Officer #Noah Leotta was assigned. pic.twitter.com/aBslDoJiIK
— Kate Ryan (@KateRyanWTOP) December 10, 2015Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger talks about Officer #NoahLeotta pic.twitter.com/NbNJPAMLG0
— Kate Ryan (@KateRyanWTOP) December 10, 2015
WASHINGTON — Police officers on Thursday paid tribute to an officer who died a week after a driver, who had been drinking and smoking, struck the officer during a traffic stop.
A police procession for Officer Noah Leotta took place Thursday afternoon with a brief pause at the 4th District Wheaton Police Station located at 2300 Randolph Road.
Leotta, 24, died Thursday morning — nearly a week after he was hit by a car during a traffic stop on Rockville Pike.
Noah Leotta was working as a member of the department’s holiday alcohol task force and was in the middle of a traffic stop when he was hit about 9:45 p.m. near Edmonston Drive.
Police say a 47-year-old man from Olney, who was driving north on Rockville Pike, hit Leotta’s parked squad car and then hit Leotta, who was outside the police car at the time.
Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger said the driver who hit Leotta had smoked marijuana and been drinking for hours before the crash. The man had been arrested two other times for drunk driving, Manger says.
“The state of Maryland has some of the weakest penalties for drunk drivers and in fact, as we look ahead to the prosecution of this case, I can tell you that whenever it’s done, there’s little chance of real justice being done.”
A grief-stricken and angry Manger says Leotta was the exact kind of police officer the community wanted patrolling its streets.
“Noah was out trying to prevent that crime — that crime that ended up killing him,” Manger said. “This county is worse because Officer Noah Leotta is not out driving around his patrol car. That he is not out here serving the community.”
The collision that killed Loetta is under investigation.
Under Maryland law, hitting an officer while under the influence can come with penalties of anywhere from 60 days to one year in jail for first-time offenders and between one year to three years in jail for report offenders.
State’s Attorney John McCarthy released a statement on Leotta’s death and touched on drunk driving in the state.
“I understand Chief Manger’s frustration with repeat drunk driving offenders who are not adequately punished under Maryland law. While I understand alcoholism is a disease and treatment should be afforded those who suffer it, we must not allow the privilege of driving on our streets to be given to those who might harm or even kill others after consuming alcohol or taking illegal drugs. Let us take note of other states who’s laws are much stricter on repeat drunk drivers than ours to prevent future tragedies such as this one.
As for the this particular case it is our responsibility to enforce the law as it currently stands. I have assigned two of my most senior prosecutors to handle this case. The public should rest assured that we will pursue this case based on where the evidence takes us. It would be premature to discuss the various permutations or possible outcomes at this time because it is an ongoing investigation. We await accident reconstruction reports, blood toxicology reports and a final police report to be screened by police and prosecutors, then we will act accordingly at that time. Until then we will keep in our thoughts and prayers the family and friends of Officer Noah Leotta,” said John McCarthy, State’s Attorney for Montgomery County.”
