US Park Police Officer Testifies in Preliminary Hearing for a Vehicular Homicide

By Rhiannon Little [former] - August 18, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Documents | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

On Aug. 17, a US Park Police officer testified in a preliminary hearing for a 2023 vehicular homicide case before DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan.

Benjamin Robertson, 34, is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly striking two pedestrians with his vehicle, including 74-year-old Bing Wong, on July 12 at the intersection of 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. Wong succumbed to his injuries later that day. A 13-year-old female victim was also struck but survived.

According to court documents, Robertson said he was carjacked as he was leaving a urine test for a potential job and a man with a gun jumped into the passenger seat. Robertson said he kept driving because he was scared the man would shoot him. 

Robertson said he would have stopped if he realized he hit someone and he didn’t notice the damage to the vehicle until he parked at his apartment.

At the hearing, the prosecution called a responding US Park Police officer to the witness stand. The officer discussed surveillance footage used in the investigation of the incident.

A surveillance video taken by an eyewitness, which was shown in court, showed a blue Honda Accord swerving across double-yellow lines into the opposite lane and running a red light ahead of a US Secret Service (USSS) vehicle with its emergency lights on.

Screenshots from surveillance videos clarified that the vehicle briefly collided with another vehicle as it ran the red light before striking two pedestrians on a crosswalk.

The officer made an in-court identification of Robertson based on their interactions with him, their viewing of surveillance footage, and their involvement in his arrest.

The officer testified that surveillance footage from Robertson’s apartment building showed him walking toward a vehicle, which they said is the same vehicle involved in the incident. There was no visible damage to the vehicle as it pulled out of the parking lot.

The officer further testified that footage from the apartment building, approximately 21 minutes after the incident, shows Robertson moving away from what is presumed to be the same vehicle which had visible cracks in the front windshield.

The prosecution also showed a video of the car parked outside the location where Robertson received his urine test. No one was seen attempting to enter the vehicle.

During the cross-examination, Robertson’s defense attorney, Madalyn Harvey, questioned why the officer included information provided by witnesses in their sworn affidavit when they did not speak to all of the witnesses directly.

The officer clarified that information from witnesses used in the affidavit came from written statements they provided, which included a line confirming the information provided was true and accurate to the best of the witness’ ability. The officer was unsure whether all of the written statements included this line.

Harvey then asked the officer about their role in an ongoing civil lawsuit against the US Park Police regarding contact with Black Lives Matter protesters. The officer confirmed that there were “use of force” allegations against them, which Harvey pointed out goes to potential bias against Robertson, who is a Black male.

In further questioning, the witness said their colleague who initiated the traffic stop said the vehicle’s windows had a dark tint and were cracked open. The witness’ colleague also said they saw a Black man in the vehicle and smelled marijuana. Harvey asked how the officer could have observed this while the tinted windows were up, as shown in the surveillance videos.

Harvey asked about the witness’ training in homicide investigations and interviewing suspects. The witness said they had training in interrogations but not homicide investigations.

Judge Raffinan said they should continue at a later date. Harvey estimated she would require at least another hour for the remainder of her cross-examination.

Parties are expected to return on Aug. 25 to resume the cross-examination of the witness.