File Photo
Officer John Distel, a Montgomery County Police officer assigned to the 2nd District station, crashed his take-home cruiser while driving drunk in May.
|
A Montgomery County Police officer who crashed his take-home cruiser on Interstate 270 on an early morning in May pleaded guilty last week to driving under the influence at the time.
In an Oct. 3 plea agreement, the state dropped two lesser drunk-driving charges and District Court Judge Stephen P. Johnson gave Officer John Distel, a first-time offender, the disposition of "probation before judgment" — meaning the DUI guilty plea will never appear on his permanent driving record if he meets all probation criteria for one year.
Probation before judgment, or PBJ, is often viewed as a best-case scenario by defense attorneys, observers said. But Distel could face an internal affairs investigation by Montgomery County Police.
"John Distel is a decorated officer and he looks forward to continuing his work for the county as a police officer," his attorney Michael A. Taylor said Monday. Taylor is a private attorney not affiliated with the county police union.
Distel, 32, a six-year county police veteran and patrol officer with the 2nd District station in Bethesda, crashed into two highway barriers about 1:25 a.m. on May 9 while driving south on Interstate 270 near the Montgomery Village overpass in Gaithersburg, according to county police. He sustained minor injuries in the crash, but was not taken to the hospital, police said. No one else was injured and he was the "sole witness" to the crash, Lt. Paul Starks, county police spokesman said in May.
Montgomery County Police conducted the police investigation, involving alcohol and collision investigation units after Distel claimed he was a victim of a hit-and-run collision.
They charged Distel, who lives in Germantown and previously worked in the 6th District in Gaithersburg, with driving under the influence, driving under the influence per se, and driving while impaired, according to court records.
Johnson placed Distel on one year supervised probation, which means he must check in periodically with a parole and probation officer on a schedule determined by the county's Department of Corrections and is banned from drinking alcohol for one year. Distel had enrolled in and is completing alcohol treatment, Taylor said in court. Johnson also fined Distel $307.50, to be paid within 31 days and restored Distel's driver's license.
In May, Lt. Paul Starks, spokesman for county police, said that Distel would be handled in the legal system "like anyone else," but said department policy stipulates that once the court process is complete that the officer would likely face an internal investigation to determine administrative violations and his fate with the department.
A spokesperson for county police did not return calls for comment on Thursday.
