Montgomery Co. officer loses use of legs after being 'intentionally' struck on I-270, police chief says

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Montgomery Co. officer loses use of legs after being ‘intentionally’ struck on I-270, police chief says

Jessica Kronzer | [e-mail]
Valerie Bonk | [e-mail]

October 18, 2023, 2:50 AM



Montgomery County Police Sgt. Patrick Kepp was attempting to stop a suspected drunk driver when he was struck, police said. (Courtesy Montgomery County police/WTOP)

A Montgomery County police officer has lost the use of his legs after the police chief says he was “intentionally” stuck by a teen driver who was reportedly trying to “provoke” officers into a chase on Interstate 270 early Wednesday morning. ... The driver, 19-year-old Raphael Mayorga, of Frederick, is being charged with attempted first-degree murder in addition to other charges, Chief Marcus Jones said at an afternoon news conference. ... Sgt. Patrick Kepp, 36, remains in “critical condition,” and has “lost the use of both of his legs,” Jones said.

Mayorga was speeding on the interstate early Wednesday while getting on and off both directions of the roadway from Clarksville through Rockville, police said. This is a tactic that Jones said Mayorga has used in the past to “provoke officers into chasing him” on roadways in the county. ... “He does this intentionally to bait officers into chasing him as if this is some sort of a video game,” Jones said.

At one point Mayorga’s Dodge Challenger drove at more than 110 mph, Jones said. ... Officers decided to intervene after Mayorga almost ran another driver off the road, Jones said. ... Kepp parked his cruiser on the crossover of the interstate, just north of Watkins Mill Road, and got out to deploy “stop sticks” to deflate the tires of the Dodge Challenger at around 4 a.m., police said.

“The vehicle is observed actually intentionally moving from the middle lanes to the far left lanes and Mayorga came directly at Sgt. Kepp as he was deploying the ‘stop sticks,'” Jones said. “He intentionally struck Sgt. Kepp in the main lanes of I-270.” ... The Dodge Challenger then kept driving and was stopped further down the road on I-270, where Sgt. Andre Smith had deployed a second set of stop sticks.

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Jessica Kronzer
Jessica Kronzer graduated from James Madison University in May 2021 after studying media and politics. She enjoys covering politics, advocacy and compelling human-interest stories.

[e-mail]
@kronzer_news

Valerie Bonk
Valerie Bonk started working at WTOP in 2016 and has lived in Howard County, Maryland, her entire life. She's thrilled to be a reporter for WTOP telling stories on air. She works as both a television and radio reporter in the Maryland and D.C. areas.

[e-mail]
@ValerieBonk