No charges filed after deadly police chase in Wheaton

No charges will be filed against the Montgomery County police officers involved in a Dec. 13 chase that resulted in a fatal crash in Wheaton, according to a Wednesday press release from Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown.

The Attorney General’s Division of Independent Investigations has completed its investigation into the accident that killed a young man on May 20, the press release said. The Attorney General’s Office concluded that none of the officers involved in the pursuit committed a crime. The office subsequently declined to file charges against any of the officers.

On Dec. 13 at around 10:15 p.m., county officers attempted to stop a white Nissan Maxima in the area of ​​Georgia Avenue and Plyers Mill Road in Wheaton, authorities said.

Sergeant Kevin McGlamary and Officers Andrew Synan, Ian Hamilton, Daniel Garcia and Aaron Bachofsky were on scene and “used their individual unmarked patrol vehicles to conduct surveillance on a white Nissan Maxima that appeared suspicious to them” behind a shopping center in the 2200 block of Bel Pre Road, according to the department’s report.

The 19-year-old driver of the Nissan fled the traffic stop and later fled on a second attempt in the area of ​​Bucknell Drive and Cambridge Park Court in Wheaton, striking a county patrol car. The patrol car, assigned to county police officer Anders Johnson, was disabled after the collision.

Synan then pursued the Nissan north on Georgia Avenue for about 1.5 miles, according to the Attorney General’s Office. At the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Henderson Avenue, the driver then struck a median, lost control and veered into the southbound lanes of Georgia Avenue, where he collided with two cars, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

According to police, the vehicles involved were a Toyota Corolla and a Honda Pilot.

The officers’ body camera footage shows the Nissan rolling over on its side, the airbags deploying and the windshield shattering.

According to footage from his body-worn camera, District Police Officer Antonio Ruiz repeatedly shouted, “District Police! Show me your hands!” as he and other officers approached the driver with guns drawn.

According to the press release, the driver of the Nissan was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while the passenger, a male juvenile, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The drivers and one passenger of the other vehicles involved suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to local hospitals.

No officers were injured in the incident, the press release continued.

The press release did not reveal the name of the young man who died, nor his age, nor did it say whether the driver of the Nissan would face charges in connection with the accident.

Neither the district police nor the Attorney General’s Office provided further information about the victim or the Nissan driver when asked by MoCo360 on Wednesday afternoon.

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