A D.C. police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to reckless driving and agreed to pay $350 in penalties after authorities said she and another on-duty officer crashed two marked police cars while drag racing in a Northeast Washington neighborhood.
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Officer Jerrita Millington, 33, who joined the department in August 2019, entered her plea in D.C. Superior Court as part of a deal with the D.C. attorney general’s office.
In return, the office dropped two charges of aggravated reckless driving against Millington and recommended no jail time or period of probation.
“I just want to apologize for my actions, and I appreciate everyone’s time that they’ve put into this situation,” Millington told Magistrate Judge Shelly A. Mulkey.
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Since the incident on April 22, Millington has remained on the force but has not been allowed contact with the public pending the outcome of an internal investigation, police said.
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The other officer in the case, Humias Khan, 24, was new to the force and was still on probation when the drag race occurred, police said. He was immediately fired.
Like Millington, Khan was cited for reckless driving and two counts of aggravated reckless driving involving bodily injury and property damage. Khan, who is contesting the charges, has rejected a plea agreement proposed by the attorney general’s office and is awaiting a nonjury trial this year, his attorney said.
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Prosecutor Andrew Levine said the two officers — each with a partner in the front passenger seat — parked their marked cruisers side by side about 5:15 p.m. in the 1500 block of Anacostia Avenue NE, a two-lane street that Levine described as “a winding road with limited visibility that runs through a residential neighborhood.”
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He told the judge that both cars were facing south — Millington’s in the southbound lane and Khan’s in the northbound lane.
The two Ford Taurus sedans then rapidly accelerated, he said, citing surveillance video and digital data retrieved from the cars. Millington’s car traveled for about 23 seconds, crossing three speed bumps and reaching a speed of 49 mph before she lost control of the vehicle and it collided with Khan’s speeding cruiser, Levine said.
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He said the speed limit in that area is 20 mph.
Millington’s car spun around after the collision and crashed into a wooden fence in front of a residence. Millington, Khan and the two officers in the passenger seats were treated at a medical clinic for minor injuries. The two cars sustained a total of more than $20,000 in damage in an incident that Police Chief Robert J. Contee III called “embarrassing.”
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The two passengers, like Millington, are still working, on noncontact status, pending the completion of the internal investigation, police said.
Reckless driving in D.C. is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. Millington was fined $100 and ordered to pay $250 into a crime victims compensation fund.
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“The facts of the case represent a tremendous mistake on the part of Ms. Millington, one she has taken responsibility for,” her lawyer, Sean Murphy, said in court. “It’s one that she could use to continue her growth in fulfilling the aspirational oath she took as a police officer, to develop self-restraint and to be constantly mindful of the welfare of others.”
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