Post, 30 Apr 2011 (Castaneda).
Two Prince George’s County police officers who beat and pepper-sprayed a motorist during a 2008 traffic stop — an incident that led to the county paying a $125,000 settlement to the driver — have received additional training and returned to full duty, officials said.
The officers, John Wynkoop and Scott Wilson, were each found guilty of administrative charges during separate trial boards in January, said Capt. Misty Mints, a department spokeswoman. Mints said state personnel laws prevented her from disclosing additional details, but she said both officers underwent training and are now on full-time patrol duty.
Wynkoop and Wilson did not respond to messages left at their stations.
Wynkoop and Wilson had both been in administrative jobs, in which they did not have contact with the public, for more than a year, a police union official said.
Last week, Wynkoop was promoted from the rank of patrol officer to patrol officer first class, Mints said.
In February 2010, the county agreed to pay $125,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Rafael A. Rodriguez, 31, a driver who accused Wynkoop and Wilson of false arrest and excessive force during a 2008 traffic stop in College Park. The incident was recorded by a video device mounted in a police car.
The officers stopped Rodriguez about 8 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2008, because they thought his car had an illegal blue-tinted turn-signal light, Wynkoop said in a charging document. After a conversation with Rodriguez, the officers returned to their cruiser, the video shows.
The officers returned to Rodriguez, and Wynkoop ordered him to turn off the engine and get out. Rodriguez did not immediately comply, and Wynkoop reached in and pulled him out, the video shows.
During a confrontation captured on video, Wynkoop slammed Rodriguez against the car and handcuffed one of his hands, and Wilson pepper-sprayed Rodriguez. The men briefly went out of camera range. Later, the video shows, Wilson struck Rodriguez with a police baton.
In the police charging document, Wynkoop wrote that Rodriguez, whom he charged with two counts of assault, struck him in the stomach with a closed fist. The video does not show Rodriguez trying to hit either officer.
Wynkoop is now assigned as a patrol officer in District III, based in Palmer Park, and Wilson is a patrol officer to District II, which is headquartered in Upper Marlboro, officials said.
Prosecutors dropped charges against Rodriguez.
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