- Christopher Baldner was indicted on
murder , manslaughter, and reckless endangerment charges Wednesday. - Tristin Goods says Baldner rammed his SUV during a traffic stop in December 2020.
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A grand jury indicted Trooper Christopher Baldner on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and first-degree reckless endangerment in connection to the December 22, 2020 incident which resulted in the death of 12-year-old Monica Goods, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that Baldner pulled over the Goods' family car for speeding, but fired pepper spray into the car during the traffic stop.
In an interview with the New York Daily News in June, Monica's father, Tristin Goods, said he was driving upstate with his wife and two daughters to visit family for Christmas.
Goods claimed Baldner was argumentative from the start of the traffic stop, yelling at him and claiming that Goods was driving so fast that he shook Baldner's car and demanding to know whether he had drugs or guns in the vehicle, according to the Daily
Prosecutors said that after Goods drove away after being pepper sprayed, Baldner pursued them, ramming his police vehicle into their SUV twice.
The Goods' car flipped over "several times" and Monica was ejected from the car, killing her, prosecutors said.
-HJ (Hank) Ellison (@hjtherealj) October 29, 2021
Baldner surrendered Wednesday morning and was suspended from the department without pay,
Baldner's union, which said it would be providing him with an attorney, issued a statement to Insider on Friday, from the group's president, Thomas H. Mungeer.
"The New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association sends our condolences to the family of the child who died in the December 2020 crash," Mungeer said. "We respect the legal process and are preparing for the next step, which will be to provide legal representation to the involved Trooper, a right afforded to every American citizen tried by a jury of peers. As this case makes its way through the legal system, we look forward to a review and public release of the facts, including the motorist's reckless actions that started this chain of events."
In a press conference after the charges against Baldner were announced on Wednesday, Monica's mother, Michelle Surrency, said that the indictment was a step in the right direction, but justice hasn't been attained for her daughter yet.
"We were robbed. And it's not fair," Surrency said, according to NBC New York. "I just want people to know the fight isn't over. This is just the beginning. You know, I didn't lose one child that day, I lost two because Tristina will never be the same."
An advocate for Monica's family, the Rev. Kevin McCall, added that Baldner shouldn't have even been behind the wheel.
Gov. Kathy Hochul previously revealed that Baldner was involved in two other crashes on the NYS thruway - an incident in January 2017 where he crashed into someone on I-87 and an incident two years later where he crashed into another vehicle, seriously injuring three people and causing "grave risk of death," CBS New York reports.
"We cannot allow someone that has a history to be on any police force throughout this state," McCall told CBS New York.
Monica Goods' family didn't respond to a request for comment on Friday.