A Prince George’s County police officer has been indicted by a grand jury after he was accused of hitting an 80-year-old man with his cruiser in the parking lot of a Bowie, Maryland, fire station.
Officer Dexter Shin is also accused of not reporting what happened and failing to get the victim proper medical attention.
“As an officer, you have an even greater duty to ensure that the person does get aid, and that you stay on scene, and that you report such incidents to the department,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said when announcing the indictment.
According to Braveboy, during the early morning hours of March 3, Officer Shin struck the elderly man as he cut through the parking lot of a fire station in Bowie.
Shin is accused of taking the man to Laurel Regional Medical Center instead of radioing for an ambulance, leaving the man at a locked ambulance bay door. The man would have to make his way into the hospital without the officer’s help.
“We believe that the officer disobeyed the general orders of the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the officer failed to really get medical assistance to the individual who truly needed it,” Braveboy said.
Braveboy also said prosecutors don’t believe the officer hit the man intentionally.
In a news release on the incident, the Prince George’s County Police Department said it suspended the officer and launched an internal investigation once it learned of the collision. The findings of that investigation were then shared with the State’s Attorney’s Office.
“The allegations against this officer are deeply disturbing and do not align with the ethical standards to which we hold our officers and do not represent the hardworking women and men of this agency,” said Chief Malik Aziz in a statement.
“If proven true, I would also advocate he be held accountable to the fullest extent possible in the administrative process,” Aziz said.
Braveboy said while the officer driving the man to the hospital did” show some level of compassion and understanding that the person needed aid,” the fact that the man who had a broken leg was left at a locked door was “very disappointing.”
Shin was indicted on one count of misconduct in office.
When asked for comment, police union president Angelo Consoli told WTOP the union “does not condone” the alleged actions of the officer, calling them “inappropriate” and “out of policy.”
Consoli did take issue with this case going to a grand jury, saying the incident should have been handled by the police department’s disciplinary process and not by the courts.
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