(Photo by Lauren Landau)
A crowdfunding campaign has raised $27,000 for the two police officers injured in Adams Morgan, more than halfway to a goal set by the D.C. Fraternal Order of Police.
“While both officers are receiving the world’s best medical care and robust support from the Department, FOP, and union, there will be expenses incurred by them and their families that will come out of pocket. We hope you will consider making a donation, big or small, to support these officers and their families in this time of need,” the GoFundMe campaign reads.
The two officers, along with a traffic control officer employed by the District Department of Transportation, were injured on June 8, when a white pick-up truck barreled through Adams Morgan. The vehicle swerved around a Metrobus into a lane of oncoming traffic. D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said that the pick-up was six or seven cars behind the bus when it headed into the median.
The cops are both bike patrol officers who have served with the Metropolitan Police Department for four years. Photos showed their bicycles mangled in the street.
The car then continued north through the intersection at 18th and Columbia roads NW, before hitting a sanitation truck (that the owner said had been purchased the same day) and coming to a rest.
The driver, Brandon Figures-Mormon, was charged with with intent to kill and possession of an unregistered firearm. The passenger was also initially charged with possession, but the charge was later dropped.
Prosecutors argued in court on Saturday that Figures-Mormon intentionally hit the officers, citing his history of anti-police statements. A public defender said her client was under the influence of “concentrated marijuana” and had no intention of targeting police officers, The Washington Post reports.
Court documents released on Saturday said that the officer with the most serious injuries suffered a head trauma and fractured ribs that punctured his heart. The second officer’s nose was broken, his ankle sprained, and he had burns from contact with the road, Fox5 reports. The second officer and the traffic control officer have already been released from the hospital.
The crowdfunding campaign hopes to raise $50,000, to be split equally between the officers and their families as they face a “tough recovery and rehabilitation.”
“MPD is grateful for the outpouring of support that has been received from the community,” a spokesperson said.
Rachel Sadon