New York AG’s Letitia James urges Supreme Court justices to reinstate murder charges against officer who “intentionally” drove an SUV into a vehicle, killing an 11-year-old black girl

New York’s Supreme Court of Appeals has reinstated murder charges against a retired state trooper within the death of an 11-year-old black girl 4 years ago after he allegedly crashed his police vehicle into her family’s SUV “like the Dukes of Hazard,” judges say. noted within the ruling.

Christopher G. Baldner faces charges of second-degree murder within the death of Monica Goods of Brooklyn and 6 counts of first-degree reckless endangerment following his initial indictment in October 2021.

But earlier this 12 months, Ulster County Superior Court Judge Bryan Rounds found that the evidence didn’t convincingly show that Baldner acted with a “betrayed indifference to human life” during a fatal traffic accident involving the family’s Dodge Journey in December 2020

As a result, Rounds dismissed the murder charge, effectively leaving Baldner to face only lesser crimes. He also reduced the reckless endangerment charges, limiting them to second-degree violations and cutting the overall number in half.

New York Attorney General Letitia James later challenged the result, appealing to the Appellate Division of the Third Judicial Department of the State Supreme Court, which agreed to reinstate all charges within the case Opinion 4-1 was given in Albany last Thursday.

Only one judge expressed opposition to the decision, while the bulk referred to the cruel language contained in the unique indictment issued within the case.

“The grand jury heard that in September 2019, the defendant ‘came out of the woods like gambling princes’ in his state police vehicle with sirens activated when he observed a minivan traveling at 80 miles per hour,” he added. is the opinion.

“The evidence of the December 2020 incident is comparable. The grand jury heard from witnesses that at roughly 11:40 p.m., the defendant “was looking to see if he could get one last ticket” before meeting his partner when he stopped an SUV for speeding.”

The court referred to the classic television series “The Dukes of Hazzard” – known for its shocking automobile chases and high-speed stunts.

In his dissent, Justice J.P. Egan Jr. admitted that Baldner “performed his job in a reckless and undisciplined manner” but argued that his actions didn’t constitute a “total disregard for human life”.

But the bulk disagreed, declaring that even when Baldner applied the brakes on his work vehicle throughout the pursuit, it was to “intentionally ram the SUV.”

The court emphasized that such actions are permitted under state police regulations only within the presence of a superior officer, and that Baldner’s behavior was consistent with a previous pattern of behavior.

The girl’s father, Tristan Goods, was behind the wheel of the SUV when the situation rapidly escalated following a traffic stop.

“(D)efendant initiated the traffic stop by angrily and vulgarly accusing Goods of driving over 100 miles per hour,” the ruling said, according to an affidavit filed by the girl’s father. “An argument ensued between the defendant and Goods in front of Goods’ wife and two children, who attempted to calm him down.”

Witnesses say the defendant left to pick up a supervisor but returned and pepper-sprayed the SUV without notice, causing Goods’ wife and kids to scream in pain. Goods, shielding his eyes, fled the scene when the spray can was found contained in the vehicle.

Baldner immediately gave chase, reporting to the dispatcher that the SUV was “getting away” and his pepper spray was still inside.

James’ post-indictment statement states that throughout the pursuit, Baldner rear-ended an SUV twice with the police vehicle. After the second time, the SUV rolled over several times before coming to rest the wrong way up.

Monica Goods was ejected from the vehicle and died from her injuries before the ambulance arrived.

The ruling stated that the appellate court accepted the daddy’s account of the incident, while emphasizing a very powerful details regarding the circumstances of every collision.

Attorney General James released a statement last week praising the court’s decision to hold Baldner accountable.

“As a former state trooper, Christopher Baldner was responsible for serving and protecting the people of New York, but the indictment accuses him of violating that sacred oath and using his vehicle as a deadly weapon, resulting in the senseless death of a young girl,” Jacob wrote.

“While nothing can return Monica Goods to the loving arms of her family, this court decision will enable my office to continue its efforts to obtain some semblance of justice for the Goods family. We must hold law enforcement to the highest standards and we will continue to work on this case to ensure justice is served.”

In one other statement concerning the ruling, the New York State Police Benevolent Association criticized the court’s decision.

“We strongly disagree with the decision, which we believe inappropriately reinstated the charge of ‘depraved indifference,’” the union said.

“We are deeply concerned that this ruling, if upheld, would set a dangerous precedent that would undermine the power of law enforcement officers to effectively do their jobs and protect and serve the general public. The PBA will proceed to support retired Trooper Baldner and canopy his legal fees as he seeks permission to appeal this decision.