Maryland Trooper Fired in Bizarre Drunken Chase Case
Posted: Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Updated: December 24th, 2008 09:40 AM GMT-05:00
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TOWSON, Md. --
A Maryland State Police trooper was fired after being charged with kidnapping a man in his marked police car during a chase in which the trooper was the one running from other officers.
Maryland State Police Officer Bruce Wrzosek, 22, had been suspended from duty earlier in the year after an incident in Baltimore city that was never prosecuted, 11 News I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said.
Wrzosek went back to work in October but allegedly got involved in a much more serious case early Saturday in Towson.
Baltimore County police were called to a fast food restaurant at Loch Raven and Taylor avenues at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday after getting calls that a state trooper who appeared to be drunk was using a marked police car -- lights and sirens blaring -- to pull people over at the drive through.
According to court documents, a witness reported that "a drunken state trooper grabbed (one man) out of his car and put him in the police car."
Investigators said county police approached the trooper, but as they did, he took off, racing east on Taylor Avenue at a high rate of speed. The court documents said when the trooper finally stopped, he provided his Maryland State Police identification.
Miller reported that the trooper had trouble with a field sobriety test, allegedly admitting, "That's great. I'm drunk."
According to court documents, the fast food customer in the trooper's car told police, "He thought they were doing around 95 mph while on Taylor Avenue, and that (the trooper) scared the life out of him."
"The allegations made against this individual are very serious," said State Police Spokesman Greg Shipley.
He said the department's response to the allegations was swift. Wrzosek was fired by noon on Monday.
Wrzosek was off duty at the time of the incident, Miller reported. He was authorized to have a take-home police car.
On Saturday, investigators said Wrzosek's blood-alcohol content was 0.20 -- more than twice the legal limit.