Volunteer in Grave Condition; No Charges to Be Filed Against Driver
By Allan Lengel and Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
He was the maestro of traffic, waving his hands with purpose and grace. The cars that rumbled through the intersection of M and Wisconsin were the "musical notes."
Joseph Pozell, a volunteer D.C. police traffic officer, played "a symphony out there," close friend Ed Solomon told hundreds of people who gathered last night at a candlelight vigil in a Georgetown park to honor Pozell, who suffered a severe head injury Saturday after being hit by a car while on duty.
Pozell, 59, a beloved figure in the Georgetown community, remained in grave condition last night at George Washington University Hospital.
Police said earlier yesterday that no charges will be filed against the driver of a sport-utility vehicle that hit Pozell, calling the incident a "tragic accident."
Last night, the scene at Montrose Park looked almost like a Norman Rockwell painting, a slice of old-time Americana: officers in uniforms, adults in suits and blue jeans, a mayor, a police chief, a couple of children with baseball mitts. The park is adjacent to Oak Hill Cemetery on R Street NW, where Pozell is manager and where he lives with his wife, Ella.
One by one, speakers stepped up to the microphone and spoke with adulation about a man known for turning on one foot, like a dancer, at his usual traffic-cop spot at Wisconsin and M streets, and for keeping motorists and pedestrians in line with hand gestures and sharp blasts of his whistle.
"Joe always wanted to be part of something special," said D.C. police Capt. Patrick Burke, a friend. "He was so excited to put on that uniform" and direct traffic, he added.
Pozell was even willing, Burke added with a smile, to give up Friday night martinis and Tanqueray and tonics to do the work.
"Joe loved it," he said. "How many people can chase a dream at Joe's age?"
At one point during the vigil, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey presented Pazel's wife with a "blue shield medal," which honors officers injured in the line of duty, and kissed her on the cheek.
On a few occasions, people hoisted their candles in the air in honor of Pozell, a 34-year resident of Georgetown.
Pozell's son Joseph, 26, told the crowd that he was a bit dumbfounded when his father called about five years ago to say he was going to be a volunteer officer.
"You're 54 years old and you can't hear," he told his father.
Three years ago, Pozell became a reserve officer, a designation that later allowed him to direct traffic.
"He did not care if you had money or you were a bum covered in trash," Joseph Pozell said. "He was totally unselfish. He didn't care what happened as long as other people were safe and happy."
A day before the accident, Pozell ran in a road race to benefit families of officers killed in the line of duty.
The next day, police said, he apparently did not see a Honda CR-V that was turning onto westbound M Street from Wisconsin Avenue about 3:40 p.m. He walked into it and was knocked to the ground, his head hitting the pavement, police said.
The driver of the CR-V, identified by police as Julia R. Matthews, 19, of the 1300 block of Lancia Drive in McLean, had a green light, police said.
Matthews told investigators that she didn't see Pozell until the collision, police said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Pozell and his family," Matthews's father, Robert, said last night.
In a lighter moment last night, D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) recalled jogging past Pozell at Wisconsin and M about a half-hour before Saturday's accident. Evans said Pozell joked: "Slow down!"
Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.