A 57-year-old former Metropolitan police officer has been offered a plea deal after an accident in which he swore at a cyclist, hit him with his truck, drove from the scene, and then lied about the incident. John W. Diehl of Washington, D.C., has pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a crime an accident.
Washington D.C.’s detailed the sentence.
Diehl is required to complete 25 hours of community service, undergo anger management counseling, complete a driver safety course, and complete drug and alcohol treatment over the next year, according to Machen’s office.
If Diehl complies with those conditions, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss the case. But if he fails to live up to his end of the deal, the court will proceed with sentencing. His next hearing is set for April 2, 2014, Machen’s office says.
Cyclist Evan Wilder filmed the entire August 31, 2011, incident—which you can watch below—on his helmet cam. Diehl swore at Wilder out of the passenger side window of his Toyota Tacoma, told him to move over, then appeared to swerve into the cyclist, knocking him down and causing road rash, scrapes, and bruises—and damaging Wilder’s bike. The posted Wilder’s video on YouTube, which included a shot of Diehl’s license plate. The police .
Shortly after the crash—after he received a letter from police that his truck had been involved in a hit-and-run crash—Diehl denied involvement.
According to the affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, Diehl told police, “I wasn’t there. I didn’t do it. I know nothing about it.”
The Tacoma had on the passenger side rear fender. Wilder was vocal about the delay in bringing Diehl to court and reported on the fact that two judicial summons were not delivered to Diehl’s home and that he had never been served the bench warrant that had been issued. After calls from a reporter, Diehl eventually —i of 2012.