Baltimore City Officer Dies in Line of Duty

The Baltimore City Police Department reported Saturday night that it lost one of its own.

Officer Craig Chandler died Friday, Jan. 9, as the result of injuries from a line-of-duty crash, the Baltimore City Police Department reported.

The collision occurred in the 2200 block of Kirk Avenue on Nov. 23, 2014, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Chandler was one of three officers in a police cruiser that was pursuing a scooter when the scooter cut off the police car, according to ABC 2 News, which said the cruiser hit the scooter and crashed into a telephone pole.

Two officers and the person on the scooter had serious injuries, and Chandler was in grave condition, the TV station reported.

Chandler was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, and the officer driving the cruiser was suspended with pay, according to The Baltimore Sun. The scooter driver was charged with reckless driving, negligent driving and fleeing/eluding police, according to reports.

A sergeant had told police over the radio to stop the pursuit 15 seconds before the crash, according to ABC 2, which reported the case was under investigation.

Chandler, who had been assigned to the northeast district, remained in the hospital from the time of the crash until his death on Jan. 9, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

The last Baltimore City Police Department line-of-duty death was in August 2012, which also involved an officer who died after a crash into a utility pole.

Chandler’s was the second line-of-duty police death of 2015 in the U.S., according to the Officer Down page. The first was Jan. 3 in Colorado, where an off-duty policeman was helping to direct traffic around a crash when an SUV lost control due to snowy and icy conditions and hit him, a trooper, bystander and vehicle.

This week, a Howard County paramedic also died in the line of duty in a crash in which weather was believed to have been a factor. He was working in Bel Air at the time.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced for Officer Craig Chandler.

Screenshot from @Baltimore Police.