Motorcyclist Sought in Pileup Is Identified
Pr. George's Officer Could Be Fired Over High-Speed Chase

By Candace Rondeaux
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 27, 2007

The motorcyclist who sparked a police chase that led to a fatal multi-vehicle crash on the Capital Beltway has been identified by a woman who was on the back of the motorcycle during the pursuit that reached speeds exceeding 120 mph, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.

New details about the May 30 crash emerged yesterday, a day after Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin C. High said police investigators have competed their portion of the inquiry and turned the case over to State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey for review.

The crash -- one of the most grisly in the county in recent memory -- could lead to an officer's firing and criminal prosecution, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing. The police interview with the passenger on the motorcycle, accounts from more than 20 witnesses, a videotape of the chase and other evidence indicate that Officer Scott Campbell did not have adequate justification to initiate the high-speed chase, the sources said.

The sources said the police pursuit was over almost before it began. The motorcycle, with a man driving and a woman on the back, sped past in seconds and disappeared down the highway in rush-hour traffic as a Prince George's police officer gave chase in his cruiser. Moments later, the cruiser collided with a sport-utility vehicle, setting off a chain-reaction crash that killed two people and injured 15.

The passenger identified the motorcycle's driver in an interview with investigators several weeks ago, sources said. Police subsequently found the motorcycle at the man's home and examined it thoroughly before returning it, but investigators say its relevance to the case is uncertain, the sources said.

Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a Prince George's police spokesman, declined to say whether the motorcyclist or anyone else had been charged in the accident. Police have denied several requests to identify the officer, but sources have identified him as Campbell, a five-year veteran of the force.

Attempts to reach Campbell have been unsuccessful, and it is unclear whether he has hired an attorney.

High said in a written statement Thursday that his department has forwarded evidence to Ivey. The chief did not identify the officer involved but said he has been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of a review by Ivey's office and the completion of an internal police investigation.

"Our investigators and the State's Attorney's Office have been in regular contact, as they have assisted us during the course of the criminal investigation in summoning witnesses and obtaining arrest warrants," High said.

Ivey said Friday he had not had a chance to review the file, but he expects prosecutors to determine whether the case should be forwarded to a grand jury in the next two weeks.

"We're going to conduct a thorough review in an objective way and will be as expeditious as possible," Ivey said. "But we want to make sure we do it the right way."

The incident began about 7 p.m. when the motorcyclist reportedly was seen weaving through traffic near the Ritchie Marlboro Road exit. Sources said Campbell initiated the chase without radioing to dispatchers, as required under the police department's pursuit policy. Moments later, he slammed into the SUV, killing Kevin McCarter, 49, of Fort Washington, and his friend Sidney Clanton Jr., 55, of Buffalo, almost instantly.

When police arrived, they found the SUV twisted into a heap of mangled metal. Nearby, an off-duty police officer in the driver's seat of a four-door sedan was covered in shattered glass. The roof of his car was sheared almost entirely off by the impact.

According to a recent copy of the Prince George's police department vehicle pursuit policy obtained by The Washington Post, officers can take part in pursuits only if there is probable cause to believe that the suspect was involved in the use or threat of physical force or was involved in a hit-and-run accident that resulted in death or serious injury.

An officer who engages in a chase must notify a supervisor through a dispatcher, the policy says. The officer is also required to provide the dispatcher with the location, speed and progress of the pursuit. The policy says that an officer's primary concern should be the preservation of life, not capturing or identifying a suspect.

The sources said Campbell could face a range of departmental punishment, including termination.

But some who are familiar with the case questioned whether any criminal case against the officer would result in a conviction.

Although chases that result in injuries frequently generate public outcry, court rulings on such pursuits have generally favored officers.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court granted police officers strong protection from lawsuits by suspects who lead them on car chases. The justices ruled 8 to 1 that Georgia police used "reasonable force" when they rammed a teenager's speeding car in 2001. The videotaped chase left him a quadriplegic.

In 1998, the high court ruled in a California case that high-speed police chases that result in death do not violate the victims' due process rights.