DC Officer Accused of Hit and Run

Police are saying little about an incident in which a D.C. police cruiser apparently hit a teenager during a chase -- and then left the scene.

Dominic Turner, 18, suffered broken ribs, internal bleeding and a back injury when he was hit Saturday night. He returned home Monday afternoon, with a walker, after two days in the hospital.

"It was hard and fast. It caused me to vomit (from) the impact," Turner said. "I'm just glad I'm still here."

It all began, according to Turner's family, when a group of men, including Turner, were standing outside a family gathering holding cups. Police saw them and told them to drop the cups. That somehow evolved into a police chase. Turner was struck about 8:30 p.m. Saturday in an alley near 20th and Newton streets NE.
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A witnesses told the family the police cruiser hit Turner and the officer got out of the cruiser, walked over to the teen, grabbed him and then got back in the cruiser and took off.

"They were the people who were supposed to look out for me, but I became a victim," Turner said.

Witnesses went to get Turner's parents a the family gathering. The parents and relatives ran to the scene, finding Turner doubled over in pain, they said. The police and police cruiser were gone.

"When we arrived, it was the first responders there: ambulance and fire. And then, like 10 minutes later, the police were back," said Turner's mother, Darhisha Jackson Milton.

Milton and her husband, Gregory Milton, Turner's stepfather, said they were stunned by the police's alleged behavior.

"He should have done something instead of just leaving him there," Gregory Milton said. "He didn't do anything. He just hit him and then left."

According Turner's mother, their relatives, who had gathered at the scene, asked the police officers "'Who hit him?'" She said one officer -- after about 10 minutes -- said, "'Ma'am, I'm the one who hit your son.'"

Turner's relatives photographed the damaged cruiser when it returned to the scene Saturday night.
Jackson Turner said she didn't get the officer's name. Relatives took pictures of the damaged cruiser, number 5023. There was a long impact mark on the right side, including a broken side-view mirror.

"The mirror that was broken on the side of the car, was on my ribs and my stomach was on a light post," Turner said.

D.C. police did not directly confirm or deny the allegations. Gwendolyn Crump, the acting director of the MPD's Office of Communications issued a written statement:

"Multiple statements were taken following the incident and there are discrepancies over what occurred. The matter and the allegations are being investigated by the Internal Affairs Division. We cannot comment further. "

Turner graduated in May from Washington Math, Science, and Technology High School. He says he plans to start classes at Prince George's Community College next month.