A panel of judges in an appellate division of the New York Supreme Court ruled that the murder charges against former New York State Trooper Christopher Baldner must be reinstated.
According to the Times Herald-Record, Baldner’s actions during a traffic stop led to charges of second-degree murder and first-degree reckless endangerment in the death of an 11-year-old Black Brooklyn girl, Monica Goods. Baldner is accused of using his police vehicle to ram into the family of Goods’ vehicle, which made it flip over. When the vehicle flipped over, Monica Goods was pinned inside the vehicle and died of injuries she suffered in the crash.
Initially, Ulster County Court Judge Bryan Rounds deemed the evidence insufficient to prove that Baldner met the criteria for “depraved indifference to human life.” However, this ruling did not meet New York Attorney General Letitia James’ satisfaction and her office appealed Judge Rounds’ ruling to the appellate court.
Due to Rounds’ initial decision, Baldner still faced second-degree manslaughter and three charges of second-degree reckless endangerment. The latter charge also includes an instance in September 2019 during which Baldner used the same ramming tactic which resulted in the endangerment of that vehicle’s occupants.
New York Attorney General Letitia James called the death of Goods “senseless” in a statement she released.
“As a former state trooper, Christopher Baldner was responsible for serving and protecting the people of New York, but the indictment alleges that he violated that sacred oath and used his vehicle as a deadly weapon, resulting in the senseless death of a young girl,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
James continued, “While nothing can return Monica Goods to her family’s loving arms, this decision from the court will enable my office to continue our efforts to
seek some semblance of justice for the Goods family. We must hold law enforcement professionals to the highest standard, and we will continue our work on this case to ensure that justice is served.”The Police Benevolent Association of the New York State Troopers Inc., which is a police union representing Baldner, did not agree with the decision and released their own statement.
“We strongly disagree with the decision, which we believe improperly reinstated the ‘depraved indifference’ charge,” the union statement read. “We are deeply concerned that this ruling, if it stands, sets a dangerous precedent that could put a chill on law enforcement officers’ ability to do their job effectively and protect and serve the public. The PBA will continue to support retired Trooper Baldner and cover his legal expenses as he seeks leave to appeal this decision to the (state) Court of Appeals.”
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