Officer Made Error in Charging Stephanopoulos, Sources Say

A District of Columbia police officer was overzealous and in error when he charged senior White House adviser George Stephanopoulos with leaving the scene of an accident in Georgetown, police sources said Friday.

That traffic charge and another of driving with an expired license likely will be dropped by city prosecutors at Stephanopoulos’ Sept. 18 court date, the sources said.

“The officer just made bad decisions,” said a police official familiar with the incident. Stephanopoulos was handcuffed and taken to the 2nd District Police Station about 11 p.m. Thursday after an encounter with an officer that began as Stephanopoulos struggled to get his car out of a tight parking space.

Witnesses said he twice hit the bumper of a Nissan Pathfinder in front of him. The officer, who was standing nearby, walked over and, after a brief conversation, charged the presidential aide him with fleeing the scene.

“Do you know where my car was when I supposedly fled the scene? In the parking space, stopped,” Stephanopoulos said Friday. “I couldn’t get out of the space if I wanted to, and of course I had no intention of leaving.”

At the police station, officers gave Stephanopoulos a breath test, which registered 0.00 for alcohol.

According to motor vehicle records, Stephanopoulos’ license expired on July 8--within the 90-day grace period allowed by the police department’s general orders. During the grace period, drivers usually are not taken into custody but instead are ticketed and told not to drive until their license is renewed.

At a White House briefing Friday, Press Secretary Mike McCurry said President Clinton “fully expects George to get his license renewed.” Stephanopoulos said it was an oversight that he intends to correct.

The potential penalty for leaving the scene of an accident where there has been bodily injury or “substantial property damage” is a $100 fine and up to 30 days in jail.

The owner of the Pathfinder, Mike Lewis, said he had not yet gotten an estimate of damage. He said his bumper “was bent out of shape a little bit. I wouldn’t say crumpled, but more than a dent. It’s a bend.”

He said Stephanopoulos should have been able to get his Honda out of the parking space without hitting anyone, but he added: “It happens; I’ve bumped someone in my life many times.”

A spokesman for the office of the city’s corporation counsel, which prosecutes traffic charges, said Friday afternoon that he was unsure whether the office had reviewed the charges. A police spokesman said it would be up to the prosecutors to decide whether to proceed in the case.