MoCo Police Officers Involved In Fatal Chase Will Not Face Prosecution

BETHESDA, MD — Maryland prosecutors have decided not to bring charges against police in connection with an incident in May, when a Washington, D.C., man died in a crash while being pursued by Montgomery County police officers, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General said Friday.

In the early morning hours of May 20, Montgomery County Police Department officers responded to a call of an unresponsive man, Lawrence White, 37, inside a vehicle in the area of Rockledge Drive in North Bethesda.

When White woke up, he attempted to flee from the officers, and in response, they used their patrol cars to block his vehicle in place and put tire deflation devices under the rear wheels, according to the investigative report released Friday by the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.

White eventually broke free of the blockade, pushing a police cruiser with his car and fleeing northbound on Interstate 270, according to the report.

READ ALSO: Police Officer, Dead Driver Names Released In Fatal I-270 Police Chase

After about a two-minute pursuit, White crashed in the northbound I-270 express lanes just south of Route 28. During the crash, White was ejected from his car, which struck a second vehicle before coming to a stop.

White was pronounced dead on scene, and the occupants of the other vehicle were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, according to the report.

The attorney general’s Independent Investigations Division concluded its investigation into the incident on Sept. 11 and forwarded the report to the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office on Sept. 12.

The Montgomery County State’s Attorney and the Howard County State’s Attorney have an agreement to review officer-involved civilian fatalities in each other’s jurisdictions. The Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office notified the Independent Investigations Division on Nov. 28 of its decision not to prosecute the Montgomery County officers in the case.

According to the attorney general's office, the Montgomery County officers involved in the incident were Sergeant Brett Trahan, a 29-year veteran; Police Officer III Kyle Baxter, a 9-year veteran; Police Officer III Jonathan Johnson, a 5-year veteran; and Police Officer Quinton Bowles, who has about a year-and-a-half of law enforcement experience.

Because the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office retains prosecution authority in the case, the attorney general said its report does not make any recommendations about whether any officer should or should not be charged.