Md. officer fined, DWI charge dropped

A Prince George’s County police officer charged with drunken driving after he flipped his unmarked police cruiser in the Largo area in January was given "probation before judgment" on a speeding charge and fined $100 plus court costs, court records show.

Officer Darin Rush -- who was initially charged with driving while impaired, driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to control his vehicle's speed -- pleaded guilty to the speeding charge in April, court records show. The drunken-driving charges against him were dropped because prosecutors were unable to subpoena a nurse who had conducted Rush’s blood test in time for the trial, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office said.

Ramon Korionoff, the spokesman, said an investigator from the prosecutor's office twice went to the hospital personally to try to serve the nurse but could not locate her. A letter was also mailed, he said, but it is unclear if it reached her.

“We were unable to obtain the blood test results in time for trial,” Korionoff said.

Rush remains on paid administrative leave, and internal affairs investigators are looking into the case, said Maj. Andrew Ellis, a police spokesman. A man who answered the phone at Rush's home hung up after a reporter identified himself. Rush's attorney did not return a phone message seeking comment on the case. The probation before judgment ruling allows a person to technically avoid a conviction if he abides by the probation terms set by the judge.

-- Matt Zapotosky