Crime & Safety

Former New Rochelle Cop Arrested For Hit-And-Run

The DA's office said he not only left the scene without reporting it, but he had his truck repaired to get rid any damage.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A former police officer was arrested and arraigned Thursday for a hit-and-run in 2016 that seriously injured two pedestrians. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said Raymond Beckley, 25, of Valhalla, was charged with leaving the scene of an incident without reporting (personal injury/serious physical injury) and two counts of tampering with physical evidence, all felonies.

Beckley was released on $5,000 bail and is due to appear in White Plains City Court again Aug. 17.

Scarpino said Beckley is a former police officer. He resigned his position as a New Rochelle police officer earlier on the day of the crash, and then, just hours after the crash, on Nov. 14, 2016, he began working as a Town of New Castle police officer.

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Raymond Beckley. Photo credit: Westchester County District Attorney's Office.

Beckley resigned from the New Castle Police Department in Jan. 2017.

Authorities said that around 10:30 p.m. Nov. 13, 2016, Beckley was driving his Ford F350 pickup truck on Hale Avenue in White Plains when he hit a man and a woman who were walking along the street.

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Knowing what he had done, police said, Beckley did not stay to help the two victims, but instead, he quickly fled the scene and did not report the incident.

Minutes later, the White Plains Police Department was called to the scene where officers found the two victims on the street bleeding and suffering from serious physical injuries including trauma to the head and broken bones.

Both victims were immediately taken to local hospitals.

Beckley tried to conceal his involvement after the hit-and-run by having his damaged truck repaired and moved out of state, police said.

Specifically, Scarpino said, in the week following, while White Plains detectives were actively investigating the Hale Avenue hit-and-run, and were attempting to locate Beckley’s pickup, he had the front end repaired, which concealed the damage caused by the incident.

He then drove the repaired vehicle out of New York State, concealing the truck itself from investigators.

Scarpino said that upholding public integrity and prosecuting those who flaunt it is a high priority for his office.

“A police officer in any jurisdiction needs to be held to the high standards for which he is sworn to uphold,” he said. “Those who were injured deserve justice.”

The investigation that led to Beckley’s arrest Thursday was a collaborative effort between the White Plains Police Department and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Investigations Division Public Integrity Bureau.

Image via Shutterstock.

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