County police officer pleads guilty to DUI

A Montgomery County Police officer who crashed his take-home cruiser on Interstate 270 in May has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence.

In an Oct. 3 plea agreement, the state dropped two lesser drunk-driving charges and District Court Judge Stephen P. Johnson gave Officer John Distel, a first-time offender, the disposition of "probation before judgment" — meaning the guilty plea will never appear on his permanent driving record if he meets all probation criteria for one year.

Probation before judgment, or PBJ, is often viewed as a best-case scenario by defense attorneys, observers said. Distel now faces an internal affairs investigation by Montgomery County Police.

"John Distel is a decorated officer and he looks forward to continuing his work for the county as a police officer," his private attorney Michael A. Taylor said Monday.

Distel, 32, a six-year county police veteran and patrol officer with the 2nd District station in Bethesda, crashed into two highway barriers about 1:25 a.m. on May 9 while driving south on Interstate 270 near the Montgomery Village overpass in Gaithersburg, according to county police. He sustained minor injuries in the crash, but was not taken to the hospital, police said. No one else was injured and he was the "sole witness" to the crash, Lt. Paul Starks, county police spokesman said in May.

County police conducted the police investigation, involving alcohol and collision investigation units, after Distel claimed he was a victim of a hit-and-run collision.

Police charged Distel, who lives in Germantown and previously worked in the 6th District in Gaithersburg, with driving under the influence, driving under the influence per se, and driving while impaired, according to court records.

Johnson placed Distel on one year supervised probation, which means he must check in periodically with a parole and probation officer and is banned from drinking alcohol for one year. Distel had enrolled in and is completing alcohol treatment, Taylor said in court. Distel was fined $307.50 and his driver's license was restored.

"Brief mention" of the "hit-and-run" allegations was made in court by Assistant State's Attorney Sharon Diamant, Taylor said on Monday. Diamant did not return calls for comment.

According to a collision report, Distel told police that he was driving his 2003 Crown Ford Victoria in the highway's center lane, when a silver Toyota passing on his left first struck his cruiser's rear and then its front, forcing him to lose control of his cruiser, spin and hit both the left and right shoulders of the four-lane span. The Toyota fled the scene, he told police. Starks said Monday that Distel gave a differing account after the initial investigation began.

"Officer Distel mistakenly believed that is what happened, he had suffered head trauma from the airbags discharging in his face," said Taylor.

Diamant referenced Distel's breath test and field sobriety test results in court, Taylor said. The Rockville attorney said he had "no comment" on why Distel used a cell phone to report the crash, rather than his in-car radio.

Per protocol, county police took away Distel's take-home car privileges and placed him on 90 hours of paid administrative leave in May, Starks said. He returned on restricted duty to a desk job on May 27, minus powers of a sworn police officer. Since September, Distel has had his police powers back, but he has not returned to patrol.

Now that the court process is complete, department policy stipulates that the officer must face an internal investigation to determine any administrative violations and his fate with the department. That review is now underway, Starks said. Repercussions could range from a fine or loss of personal leave to a letter of reprimand to termination, Starks said. The most serious punishments are usually held for officers with previous sustained history.

County policy also says that employees involved in alcohol-related incidents could be steered toward a diversion program.

According to department regulations, officers are not allowed to drive their cruisers within four hours of consuming alcohol.

A lawyer for the Fraternal Order of Police Montgomery County Lodge 35, the county police union, will represent Distel in the internal investigation, Taylor said.

According to court records, Distel has no prior traffic violations in Montgomery County. Taylor told the court that Distel is an Iraq war veteran, who served in Iraq in 2004. He served fulltime with the U.S. Army from 1996 to 2001 and as an Army reserve officer from 2001 to 2004, when he was honorably discharged from active duty.