Former NYPD Cop Guilty Of Criminally Negligent Homicide In Crash

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — A disgraced NYPD officer has admitted her guilt in a high-speed drunken crash in Rockland County that left her husband dead.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced the guilty plea of former NYPD officer Bernadine Ramtahal-Thomas, 36, of Maybrook in Orange County, for causing her husband's death while driving at speeds of up to 109 m.p.h., with a blood alcohol content of .10, on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in 2023.

Ramtahal-Thomas pleaded guilty on Monday to criminally negligent homicide in a plea deal.

She will remain out on bail until sentencing on May 7. For pleading guilty to the charge of criminally negligent homicide, Ramtahal-Thomas will serve five years' probation. She has waived her right to appeal.

In the early morning hours of February 26, 2023, Ramtahal-Thomas, who was off-duty at the time, was driving northbound with her husband in the passenger seat on the Palisades Interstate Parkway, near exit 13, when their car went off the road and struck a tree.

Her husband, Chevy Thomas, was declared dead at the scene.

The Office of Special Investigation assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the victim may be armed or unarmed. Also, the victim may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI's assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, they will conduct a full investigation of the incident, according to state law.