Pr. George's Officer Cleared In Fatal Chase on Beltway

Video

Dashboard Camera Captures Officer's Crash

Raw video from the car of Officer Scott Campbell, who was aquitted Tuesday of charges of manslaughter in a fatal crash last year on the Capital Beltway. The top left corner of the video shows Campbell's speeds climbing over 120 mph before hitting another vehicle.

» LAUNCH VIDEO PLAYER

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Pearson shot back. "A police officer traveling at 105 miles per hour cuts off the lights. The testimony is . . . that at no point in the pursuit are the lights to be cut off."

At a news conference, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said the ruling ends the state's effort to prosecute Campbell. Among the evidence the judge excluded, he said, was that Campbell had been reprimanded for another high-speed chase a year before the crash.

Even with that evidence excluded, Ivey said, "I certainly think there was more than enough evidence for this case to go forward to the jury."

In court, McKee said establishing that Campbell violated policy would not prove that he committed a crime. The defense argued that different police departments have different policies and that Campbell's actions might have been approved under a different policy.

The prosecution's key witness on that point, Prince George's police Maj. Henry Stawinski III, testified that an officer's lights must be activated at all times during a chase and that officers should consider such factors as weather and road conditions when deciding whether to initiate a chase. McKee did not allow questions about whether Campbell's actions violated policy.

During the trial, prosecutors contended that Campbell's decision to turn off his cruiser's camera demonstrated "a consciousness of guilt" and amounted to "an attempt to destroy evidence."

Campbell, who has been suspended without pay from the department, was charged with two counts of manslaughter. He declined to comment after the ruling.

Campbell will remain on administrative leave without pay pending an internal affairs investigation into the crash, said Maj. Andy Ellis, a police spokesman.

"We didn't want to risk the criminal prosecution by gathering administrative information," Ellis said. "That process has obviously started, but now it will kick into full gear."

Belsky left open the possibility that Campbell will return to police work as a Prince George's officer.

"He has spent his life protecting people both through the Army and the department, and he's eager to continue," Belsky said.

An attorney for LaTalia McCarter, the widow of Kevin McCarter, said his client and her family were deeply disappointed.

"The family is obviously quite upset about the result," James Taglieri said. "They would have liked for the jury to make the decision."

He said the family was disappointed with McKee's earlier decisions to move the trial from Prince George's and then to bar testimony about whether Campbell's actions violated department policy.

McKee moved the trial to St. Mary's County at the request of the defense, which argued in part that hostility toward police officers in Prince George's is so great that Campbell could not get a fair trial there.

Staff writers Ruben Castaneda and Aaron C. Davis contributed to this report.