A New York state trooper was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of an 11-year-old girl by ramming his patrol vehicle into her family’s vehicle in December, the state’s attorney general announced.
Trooper Christopher Baldner was indicted on charges of murder, manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the death of Monica Goods, whose family was traveling on the New York State Thruway on Dec. 22, 2020, when Baldner stopped them for speeding.
According to prosecutors from the office of Attorney General Letitia James, who has jurisdiction over deaths caused by police officers, Monica’s father, Tristan Goods, was driving north on Interstate 87 in Ulster County when Baldner stopped his SUV for speeding.
Baldner sprayed pepper spray into the vehicle during the stop, and Goods drove off, prosecutors said. Baldner pursued the SUV and rammed his police vehicle into the other vehicle twice, the prosecutors said. After the second strike, the SUV flipped over several times and came to rest upside down, prosecutors said.
Monica was ejected from the vehicle and died.
“Police officers are entrusted to protect and serve, but Trooper Baldner allegedly violated that trust when he used his car as a deadly weapon and killed a young girl,” James said in a statement. “While nothing will bring Monica back, we must hold law enforcement to the highest standards, which is why my office is committed to seeking justice in this case.”
Authorities say Baldner similarly rammed his police vehicle into other cars on the Thruway north of New York City on two previous occasions in 2017 and 2019.
Wednesday’s indictment includes the 2019 incident and alleges that Baldner “endangered the lives of three passengers” in the car he rammed.
Baldner was arraigned in Ulster County Court and ordered held without bail. A bail hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4. Voicemail and email messages seeking comment were left with his attorney.
Officials with the state police said Baldner surrendered Wednesday morning and was suspended from the department without pay. The department is cooperating with the attorney general’s office in the investigation, they said.
Thomas Mungeer, the president of the state troopers’ Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement that the union sends its condolences to the family of the child who died.
“We respect the legal process and are preparing for the next step, which will be to provide legal representation to the involved Trooper, a right afforded to every American citizen tried by a jury of peers,” the union head said. “As this case makes its way through the legal system, we look forward to a review and public release of the facts, including the motorist’s reckless actions that started this chain of events.”
(AP)
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10 Responses
Police ramming a vehicle to end a dangerous situation is not a new phenomenon.
What, are people supposed to be allowed to run from police without consequence?
The new America sadly. Where police officers are persecuted for going their job.
‘UncleMo’ Missing the point. No one is prosecuting the officer for doing his job. His job does not entail killing an 11 year old girl and flipping a family SUV for a speeding ticket. Nor is there any information about why he would have to deploy pepper spray into a car during a traffic stop (which would obviously lead someone to drive away). This guy clearly has issues and the facts show it. No one is persecuting him for doing his job, they’re persecuting him for NOT doing his job and for committing murder while trying to hide behind a badge.
@notarebba
He didn’t ram the car with intentions to kill, he only tried to stop a car that is trying to get away from him. Spraying peppers pray didn’t help. I’m not even sure he hit the car on purpose. Should he have to pursue vehicles while still keeping the 100 feet safe distance?
Should he have fired his car at the tires?
I dont know the proper procedure but i can guarantee that if the car was driving at a safe speed in the beginning and then again when running away from the cop this wouldn’t have had such a tragic ending.
Obviously, most of the negative commentators assume the driver and his family are not anash so they don’t matter and the State trooper was just doing his job. Would they have said the same thing if the family was in hurry to get home for Shabbos?
UncleMo, bnei noach are commanded in the mitzvah of dining. Such behavior is a corruption of that responsibility. ‘Doing his job’ doesn’t excuse him. If you were doing your job, does that mean you are exempt from mitzvos?
*mitzva of dinim
Qwerty, it’s a common tactic routinely done by cops all over the country. If you do not stop immediately, they often do a maneuver that flips the car over
Can someone help me here?
Isn’t the legal definition of murder ‘intent to kill’?
Obviously, the motorist was wrong. But the policeman is – and shouldvbe – held to a higher standard. The reason to stop speeding is that it endangers lives. Ramming into a car endangers even more lives. It is the wrong response. It likely stemmed from rage at the motorist who dared ignore him.