Officials have suspended and charged a Philadelphia police officer accused of driving while under the influence and crashing into a Northeast Philly home, injuring two people, killing a dog and injuring a second dog.
Officer Gregory Campbell, 27, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault while driving under the influence, aggravated assault, criminal mischief, aggravated assault by vehicle, driving under the influence, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, unsafe speed and reckless driving.
Campbell, who was off-duty at the time, was driving in Northeast Philadelphia around 8:20 p.m. Saturday and lost control, ramming his car into a house on the 2800 block of Comply Road, Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.
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Campbell, a two-year veteran assigned to the department’s 14th district, struck a 53-year-old woman, as well as a 45-year-old man and their two dogs, Outlaw said. The woman was pinned under the car and unconscious before being rushed to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition. The man sustained injuries to his right arm, hand, hip and leg, as well as road rash to his back, the commissioner said.
The crash also killed one of the dogs and injured the other.
“The fact that the offender, in this case, is a Philadelphia Police Officer is appalling,” Outlaw said in a statement. “Police Officers must be held to a higher standard – even while off-duty – and I assure the victims and the public that a complete and thorough investigation will take place.”
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John McNesby, president of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 union, echoed Outlaw in sending prayers to the victims' family. He called it an "unfortunate incident" and said the union will "continue to monitor the investigation.”
Campbell was suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss at the end of the 30 days.
