‘Prince George’s County Sheriff’
courtesy of ‘scoutnurse’
A local paper is reporting this morning that a Prince George’s Sheriff’s Deputy was released without charges in a suspected DUI incident. The officer’s personal vehicle was found in a ditch, and the deputy failed field sobriety tests, but he was let go without any charges in early March. A sergeant with the Sheriff’s Office ordered the release, and is now serving a suspension for the decision.
The creepy part of the story? The person who brought this decision to light? Sgt. Rafael Hylton, the brother of the current PG County Police Chief Roberto Hylton. Guess who’s running for Sheriff? Sgt. Rafael Hylton. Sgt. Hylton is currently claiming that he’s suffering from a hostile work environment for failing to support his boss’ candidacy for County Executive in PG County. Don’t you feel safer already?
In other news,
Freeman Klopott of the Examiner has the eagle eyes. Late yesterday, he spotted a series of dropped cases by D.C Attorney General Irvin Nathan, all of which were DUI cases. Last Spring, the Intoxilyzer 5000 series blood alcohol testers fell under serious scrutiny when 8 of the department’s 10 units were suspected of producing faulty results. Since then, the Police Department has been trying to get the new Intoximeter machines certified with the medical examiner’s office, but failing that, they were pulled off the street last week.
Police were collecting evidence using the Intoximeter machines, but according to internal police emails presented by Klopott, not presenting those results in court as certified evidence, due to the conflict with the medical examiner’s officer over certification. As an intermediary measure, police are now collecting urine samples from suspects to use in court. If you have been charged with DUI, read here the steps you will need to take to ensure a successful defense.
I think there’s something doubly scary here: 1) That Police can’t trust their own equipment to give them solid results and 2) even if they could, watching case after case be thrown out while the potentially irresponsible go free without punishment will have an effect on morale.
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
