Drunk Maryland Cop Rear Ends Car and then Fights with Responding Officers

A cop in Anne Arundel County Maryland with an annual salary of $99,929.44 was caught drunk driving when he hit a car from behind, the cop then attacked responding officers.

On Saturday night around 8:30 p.m., Anne Arundel County police responded to a two-vehicle crash when they encountered Sgt. Kenneth Collier.

Collier – a 21-year veteran of the force – was off duty and drunk behind the wheel of his personal vehicle when he rear-ended another vehicle. The occupants of the vehicle Collier rear-ended were not injured.

Officers arrived on scene and noticed that Collier was very lethargic and displayed a slow and staggered walk. After an officer noticed the smell of alcohol on Collier’s breath and asked if he had been drinking, Collier responded by cursing at the officer.

When officers tried to arrest Collier, he attacked them according to CBS Baltimore.

Police documents state:

“After ignoring commands, Mr. Collier proceeded to come toward Officer Elyse Lapham and place his left hand on her right upper torso in what Officer Lapham advised was an aggressive manner and began to verbally shout at her, point his finger toward her and try to gain dominance over this situation.”

Police then wrangled Collier to the ground and charged him with assault on a law enforcement officer, second-degree assault, DWI, and resisting arrest. Assaulting a law enforcement officer is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Anne Arundel County Police Chief Timothy Altomare says:

“Our values as an organization include respect for others and compliance with our laws. Clearly, the behaviors alleged in this incident fall short of those values. This behavior does not reflect our culture, our collective behavior or our commitment to law enforcement ethics.”

Collier has been suspended without pay while police and the State’s Attorney’s office investigate the incident.

Other law enforcement officials in Anne Arundel County have been arrested over the past two years as well.

In May, Detective Brian Houseman agreed to resign from the department where he worked as a detective after he pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in office after police said he solicited prostitutes on the job in 2017.

In 2017 Bradly Tuthill, 33, was charged with a fourth-degree sex offense and second-degree assault after a woman told police he touched her inappropriately hours after an official call to her home.

And in October 2018 Anne Arundel County Sheriff’s Deputy Chanel Holland, 36, plead guilty to sharing information with a gang.