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Terry Harrell

Age : 58

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 06/21/2022

Location : East Biddle Street and North Milton Avenue

City : Baltimore

County : Baltimore City

State : Maryland

Agency : Baltimore Police Department

Officer(s) :Alexis Acosta

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Scooter rider killed by police vehicle crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 06/21/2022, 58-year-old Terry Harrell was critically injured when Baltimore Police Officer Alexis Acosta drove a marked police cruiser through a red light and collided with Harrell's gasoline-powered scooter at East Biddle Street and North Milton Avenue in Baltimore. Harrell was transported to a hospital with severe internal injuries and died on 06/23/2022. The incident date, rather than the later hospital death date, is used for this record.
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Acosta had activated the cruiser's emergency lights and siren and was responding to assist officers at an unrelated crime scene. Maryland's Independent Investigations Division determined that Acosta drove approximately 40–50 mph in a 25-mph zone and traveled through several red lights without appearing to significantly slow.
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Harrell was traveling north on North Milton Avenue and had a green light as he entered the intersection with East Biddle Street. Acosta entered against a red light at approximately 40 mph. The collision threw Harrell from his scooter.
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Baltimore Police policy permitted officers operating with emergency equipment to travel only 10 mph above the posted speed limit and required them to clear intersections and proceed through red lights or stop signs only when it was safe. Another Baltimore officer who witnessed the crash told investigators that Acosta went through the red light without slowing or stopping and that his brake lights did not illuminate until after the collision.
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The Maryland Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division investigated Harrell's death. Video from Acosta's body-worn camera and a city surveillance camera documented the collision and was subsequently released publicly.
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Acosta was later criminally charged in Harrell's death. In January 2024, he pleaded guilty to criminally negligent vehicular manslaughter. He received a suspended three-year sentence and two years of probation, with no incarceration.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Alexis Acosta was hired by the Baltimore Police Department on 08/25/2020 and had approximately 1½ years with the department when he killed Harrell. The IID found that Acosta had a prior Internal Affairs complaint relevant to the fatal crash stemming from a September 2021 vehicle pursuit.
Acosta was indicted in 2023 in connection with Harrell's death and ultimately pleaded guilty in January 2024 to criminally negligent vehicular manslaughter.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://oag.maryland.gov/resources-info/Documents/pdfs/IID/021624_IID_Report.pdf
https://oag.maryland.gov/resources-info/Documents/pdfs/IID/062822.pdf
https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/patrol-officer-collides-with-scooter-operator-in-east-baltimore
https://www.wbal.com/footage-released-shows-fatal-moment-baltimore-city-police-vehicle-collides-with-man-on-scooter
https://www.thebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/baltimore-police-officer-alexis-acosta-pleads-guilty-vehicular-manslaughter-D6W6V7CAIBE7LI3YI5FX7NEK5I/
https://baltimorewitness.org/no-jail-time-for-baltimore-police-officer-in-vehicular-manslaughter-of-58-year-old-man/