Montgomery County police have begun an internal investigation into the department’s handling of a four-car pileup caused by an assistant fire chief who crashed a county vehicle into a police car.
County officials have acknowledged allegations of a drunken driving cover-up, but police have so far stood behind the officers involved.
Assistant Fire Chief Greg DeHaven was driving a county-owned sport utility vehicle when he crashed into a police car that had been parked while it’s driver was making a traffic stop on Interstate 270 around 9 p.m. Nov. 30.
DeHaven, who leads the fire department’s honor guard unit, was returning from the group’s presentation of colors at a Redskins game when the incident occurred. He has since been temporarily assigned to other duties.
Shortly after the accident, Montgomery County Inspector General Tom Dagley announced he was investigating the incident because he’d heard complaints about the handling of the incident. The fire department has also retained an outside investigator.
Lt. Paul Starks, a spokesman for the police department, could not say when the police decided to conduct their own internal investigation of the incident or if there were any specific concerns that led to the investigation.
“We are conducting our own internal review of our officers’ actions,” Starks told The Examiner. “It is the only way we are going to determine whether what we did was correct or not.”
Police officials have said a junior police officer on the scene thought he may have smelled alcohol on DeHaven’s breath, but a police sergeant and captain said they did not.
Starks has previously told The Examiner and other media that DeHaven passed a field sobriety test, which consisted of watching how his eyes followed the movement of a penlike object. Police did not administer any tests that measure blood alcohol content, according to Starks, because DeHaven passed the field test.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett’s spokesman Patrick Lacefield said the county’s top elected official has encouraged a thorough review of the incident.
“If county policies were broken, we want to know that,” Lacefield said.
DeHaven faces a $130 traffic ticket after the accident for “failure to control vehicle speed on a highway to avoid collision.”
An initial report from a third-party group retained by the fire department is due out next week.
