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Officer at fault in '07 accident

County paid $65,000 to settle lawsuit

By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer

Published 10/28/09

A county police officer has lost a lawsuit she filed against a Glen Burnie man who crashed into her patrol car in 2007 while she was in Arnold running radar.

The loss last week comes a few months after the county agreed to pay the man $65,000 to settle a separate lawsuit he filed in 2008 claiming the officer was at fault because part of her car was blocking the dark roadway.

Officer Dina Johnson, who started with the department in 2005 and continues to serve in the Patrol Services Bureau, said she was disappointed in the jury's verdict, calling it "unfair." She declined further comment.

Jory Lee Beatty, 23, of Glen Burnie, could not be reached for comment.

The two lawsuits filed in county Circuit Court stem from an April 30 wreck. Beatty's 2005 Chevrolet Aveo ran into the front right corner of Johnson's patrol car - a wreck county police blamed on Johnson and which netted no charges against Beatty.

The key issue, according to court testimony, was whether the patrol car, which had its emergency lights and sirens off, was stopped and blocking about one foot of the left lane of Ritchie Highway near Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard in Arnold.

Accident reconstruction experts with the county Police Department testified Oct. 20 that Johnson was blocking part of the lane, which is 12-feet, 4-inches wide, but an expert hired by the defense said she was outside of the travel lane and against Beatty.

According to court testimony before Circuit Court Judge D. William Simpson - a retired judge from Wicomico County - Beatty was driving north on Ritchie Highway in the right lane behind a dump truck at about 4 a.m. when he moved into the left lane. Police said he appeared to be speeding, driving between 52 mph and 72 mph on the 50 mph highway.

As he passed the dump truck, Beatty clipped the corner of Johnson's patrol car, knocking it 13 feet into the median. Beatty bounced off the patrol car and into the path of the dump truck, which in turn knocked his car into a utility pole.

Beatty was seriously injured in the wreck and taken by helicopter to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. There he was treated and eventually released.

Johnson was taken to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, where she was treated and released within 24 hours of the wreck. A defense attorney claimed at trial, however, she continues to suffer numbness down one arm, debilitating headaches and shoulder and neck pain.

Johnson sought from Beatty about $1,600 for lost wages, $8,500 for medical bills and more than $80,000 for pain and suffering. The jury, however, found Beatty was not negligent and therefore not responsible for any of the damages, attorneys said.

Richard Jaklitsch, Johnson's attorney, said he respected the work of the jury, but said its decision "definitely has us scratching our heads."

"Maybe I am old fashion, but I think if you crash into a parked car that is at least 99 percent off the road then that is negligence," he said.

Justin Mulcahy, spokesman for the county Police Department, declined to comment about the crash, referring questions to the county's Office of Law.

County Attorney Jonathan Hodgson could not be reached for comment.

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stupid cop - 2009-10-29 14:54:07

so a cop parks her car in the road and it gets hit and she still is so stupid she thinks she did nothing wrong....this woman shows whats wrong with our police force...they think they are above the law...guilty !!!!

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stanley davis - mayo, md - Karma: Bad

Can this be written more poorly - 2009-10-29 13:11:40

1. Defense attorney claimed the officer still has injuries. The officer was the plaintiff in this case. Why would the defense attorney argue damages?

2. A one-year subscription to the Capital is the prize for the first person to figure out who testified to what as to the location of the patrol car.

3. He appeared to be going between 52 and 72, not 51 or 73. She was doing radar duty and didn't know how fast that car was going.

4. An inquisitive reporter might ask the AACo police spokesman why a police officer in a dark uniform, driving a dark car, is in the median doing radar at 4AM in the morning. I can understand doing street patrol looking for drunk drivers, but radar?

5. I also chuckled at how "Beatty clipped the corner of Johnson's patrol car" and Beatty "bounced off the patrol car and into the path of the dump truck". I believe his car did those things, not him, unless he was running 52 miles an hour down Ritchie Highway.

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Floyd daBarber - Mayberry, NC - Karma: Neutral

52 to 72mph? - 2009-10-29 11:31:21

Was it AACO police's radar gun or the accident reconstruction experts that determined that range?

Then again, it could be a "misprint" by the Capital staff.

"...but an expert hired by the defense said she was outside of the travel lane and against Beatty."

"...but an expert hired by the defense said she was outside of the travel lane and parked in the median."

Are they in need of a proof-reader?

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K C - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

Hired Expert - 2009-10-29 09:55:57

Of course the defense is going to find somebody to say their client is innocent. Of course anybody they find, they will tag them with the "expert" label.

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Rick M - Laurel, Md - Karma: Excellent

Jaklitsch - 2009-10-29 00:30:42

I think he is actually the lawyer trying to sue the county for the Chris Jones murder.

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franklin martin - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

police - 2009-10-29 00:08:30

excuse me if im wrong but doesnt an officer running radar have to be within view of the car its clocking to get an accurate read and also dont the have to be visible otherwise its considered entrapment

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joe schmoe - , - Karma: Bad

99% ? - 2009-10-28 18:47:55

Richard Jaklitsch, Johnson's attorney, said....
"Maybe I am old fashion, but I think if you crash into a parked car that is at least 99 percent off the road then that is negligence"

With all due respect to attorney Jaklitsch, maybe I'm the one who is old-fashioned since I don't park a car with any percentage on travel lanes other drivers are using. In the event I need to stop my car, I make sure all 100% of it is off the lanes of traffic. Not 95% of my car, not 99%, not even 99.9%, but my entire car. I think it's negligent that a police officer not responding to an emergency (where stopping on the road is justified) but rather setting up radar does not have perception enough to move her vehicle completly out of the way of traffic so that her cruiser is not one foot into the travel lane.

Anyone know if Jaklitsch is a police attorney, since I am suprised that anybody would take this case after the county basically admits fault by paying out $65,000.

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Erik Johnson - , - Karma: Good

Agreed - 2009-10-28 16:17:05

I would think a dark car parked partially in a travel lane at night could be very difficult for a driver to see and jump into the next lane in time. Officers should obviously completely clear the travel lanes when they park on the roads for radar.

As an aside, this story was not an easy read with the two duplicate paragraphs in the middle of it!

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Rachel Rachfal - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Good