An Anne Arundel County police officer has been indicted on charges, including vehicular manslaughter, in connection with what investigators say was an unauthorized chase that led to the death of 21-year-old Joshua VanderZiel of Laurel, Maryland, last year.
At a media conference on Wednesday, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown described how 30-year-old Alexander Mason Rodriguez initiated a chase with VanderZiel on Aug. 10, 2024.
Rodriguez chased VanderZiel for over four miles from Anne Arundel County into Prince George’s County without ever turning on his lights or sirens. He continued the chase until VanderZiel ultimately crashed his motorcycle into the side of a flatbed truck on Washington Boulevard in Howard County and died, Brown said.
“Officer Rodriguez, in his police SUV, chased Joshua’s motorcycle across county lines, reaching speeds up to 100 miles per hour,” Brown said.
Brown said two people inside the truck, along with a witness in a third vehicle, tried to help VanderZiel.
“Three civilians 鈥� knew someone’s life was in danger, and they called 911, but not Officer Rodriguez,” Brown said.
Instead, Brown described how, according to the investigation, Rodriguez made a U-turn past the crash scene and drove off.
“He left Joshua, who died in the dark,” he said.
According to his obituary, VanderZiel served as a Russian linguist for the Navy in Baltimore for two years.
Allison Green, chief of the Independent Investigations Division within the Office of the Attorney General, said that during the chase, “Officer Rodriguez did not notify the department dispatch that he was engaged in a pursuit.”
Green also said Rodriguez did not engage his lights and sirens.
“After the collision, he did not stop at the scene, he did not return to the scene, he did not make a notification about the collision, he did not provide medical aid or request emergency medical assistance for the collision,” she said.
She added, “After the collision, Officer Rodriguez returned to Anne Arundel County and completed his work shift,” without making a verbal or written report about the crash.
Rodriquez, who had been with the Anne Arundel County Police Department for two years, according to Brown, now faces two counts of vehicular manslaughter, one count of failure to remain on the scene of a crash where a death takes place and four counts of misconduct in office.
Brown and Green emphasized that the indictment of Rodriguez should not be seen as a condemnation of police agencies.
“The vast majority of law enforcement 鈥� is upstanding and law abiding,” Brown said.
“This is not a judgment against any police department or every officer in the state of Maryland,” Green added.
In a statement issued after news of the indictment of Rodriquez, Anne Arundel Police Chief Amal Awad said, in part, “We have fully cooperated and have been working in concert with the Office of the Attorney General since the initial stages of this investigation.”
The chief also said that Rodriquez’ status has been changed from suspended with pay to suspended without pay.
“The alleged actions of Officer Rodriguez contained in this indictment are deeply disturbing and not representative of the men and women of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, ” Awad added.
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