Montgomery Officer's Testimony in DUI Case Leads to Perjury Charge

A Montgomery County police officer has been indicted on charges of perjury and misconduct in office that stemmed from an earlier DUI case, authorities said Friday.

Officer Dina Hoffman had asserted in court that when she arrived at the scene of the DUI arrest in Gaithersburg on May 3, 2008, the suspect was seated in the driver's seat of a black Lexus.

"In fact, he was not," according to the indictment. "In truth, Dina Hoffman observed George Zaliev reclining on his back in the rear seat of the vehicle, with his legs hanging out the rear passenger side door."

The officer, who is on administrative leave, is being prosecuted by the state's attorney's office in Howard County. Montgomery officials turned over the case because Montgomery prosecutors might be called as witnesses, according to Howard officials.

"This is a case that we took very seriously from the moment the complaint was received against Officer Hoffman," Montgomery Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a statement. "She will have her day in court to answer these charges.

"A police officer's word carries a great deal of influence in court testimony," Manger added. "The public has an expectation that anyone wearing a badge, with the responsibility of upholding the law, must uphold their integrity first and foremost. Any breach of that integrity cannot be tolerated."

Hoffman's attorney, James Shalleck, declined to comment, saying he had not seen the specific charges against her. The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 35, issued a statement noting that Hoffman is entitled to a fair trial. "Fortunately, we live under a constitutional system where a person indicted for any offense is absolutely presumed innocent until and unless proven otherwise," the union said.

Hoffman, who has been a Montgomery police officer for three years, was indicted Thursday by a Montgomery grand jury on one count of perjury, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, and one count of misconduct in office, a common-law charge, according to the Howard state's attorney office, which announced the indictment Friday.

A criminal trial has been scheduled for Nov. 23, according to online court records. At the DUI trial in April, Zaliev's attorney, Paul Mack, was able to counter Hoffman's initial testimony by playing video footage from a security camera at a nearby business. The footage showed that when Hoffman approached the Lexus, Zaliev was in the back seat.

"You never saw him in the front seat, correct?" Mack asked the officer.

"As the video shows, I guess I didn't," Hoffman said.

The officer also apologized during the trial. "It's been over a year. I deal with a lot of these cases every day, so my apologies," she said.

District Court Judge Dennis M. McHugh ruled Zaliev not guilty.

Mack said Friday that his client is pleased that the perjury case is receiving exposure: "He didn't want this to happen to anyone else."

Mack, a Montgomery resident, called Hoffman a "rare exception" among county officers. "I don't think she's the rule in the Montgomery County Police Department," he said.