At approximately
12:49 on the morning of Sunday, March 12, 2000, off-duty Metropolitan
Police Sergeant Teresa Butts was operating her 1998 Dodge
Neon southbound in the 1400 block of New Jersey Avenue, NW.
It was at this time that a pedestrian, who was apparently jaywalking,
entered the roadway and was struck by her vehicle.
The pedestrian,
identified as 56-year-old Lionel Tyrone Tucker, of no
fixed address, was taken to Howard
University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1:38
a.m.
Members
of the Metropolitan Police Department's Major Crash Investigations
Unit determined that alcohol was a contributing factor. At that
time, 38-year-old Sgt. Butts' police powers were revoked and
she was placed on administrative leave with pay. She is a 13-year-veteran
assigned to the department's training division.
Today Sgt.
Butts was served with a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant charging
her with negligent homicide. She turned herself in at police
headquarters at 8:30 this morning.
Butts will
be arraigned today in D.C. Superior Court. She will remain on
administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the judicial
proceedings.