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A U.S. Capitol Police officer was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges connected to the cover-up of a hit-and-run crash in Georgetown last year.
Officer Thomas Smith drove recklessly and dangerously on June 20, 2020, while “deliberately indifferent to the risk of harm he created,” according to the Department of Justice’s indictment.
“The public’s trust is critical for any law enforcement agency and integrity is the most important quality for any law enforcement officer,” Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told the Washington Post.
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Smith, who was supposed to check on the homes of members of Congress, began chasing two motorcycles without proper authorization and crashed into one of the riders before driving away, the outlet reported. He did not contact any medical officials or render aid to the man, according to the DOJ. The motorcyclist was injured in the incident, and his condition is unknown.
The officer then falsified U.S. Capitol Police records to say that he began his shift later and grabbed the keys to a different, undamaged car to cover up the hit-and-run, prosecutors said.
When asked about the hit and run by a Capitol Police sergeant after the fact, Smith lied, saying he had no knowledge of the incident and had been assigned to drive a different vehicle the entire shift, according to the indictment.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Smith was suspended following the crash, and he will remain suspended without pay until the end of the investigation and criminal case, Capitol Police said.
He is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Washington, D.C., within the next week.
