A Magnolia Police Department (MPD) officer rear-ended a car during a routine transport to the county jail June 24 in Conroe, marking the third MPD fleet accident in seven months.

The officer was transporting a prisoner to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office jail on TX 105 when he rear-ended a car. The officer sustained no injuries but there were “some injuries” to the prisoner, said MPD Chief Domingo Ibarra.

Ibarra declined to release the name of the officer involved in the accident.

“The accident was investigated by Conroe PD and basically that’s where it is right now,” Ibarra said. “After their investigation, we’ll do an internal investigation and disclose our findings at that point.”

He added that the MPD cruiser suffered “moderate damage,” while the other vehicle involved was not damaged.

Ibarra said it is the third accident since he was hired as police chief last July.

“In most jurisdictions you have them, fleet accidents,” he said.

In terms of monetary loss, Ibarra said accidents can have an adverse affect on finances.

“Anything like this does affect the budget. However, we have a budget built for something like this,” he said.

He said the other two accidents were investigated and the officers were found not to be at fault. In one of the accidents, a cruiser sustained minor damage when the undercarriage of the car hit a culvert. The officer had been parked in a dark area and it was difficult to see the culvert, Ibarra explained.

In the second accident, an officer was in pursuit of a suspect when a deer jumped in front of the car, causing moderate damage to the vehicle.

Ibarra said he is planning to approach the city council about creating a committee to review traffic accidents by city employees, including police officers.

“I’m going to request a policy by council to…once we investigate and present our findings, to have a committee for more transparency,” Ibarra said. “We want the public to know that if anything happens here and the officer is at fault, he would also have to answer to policy and take disciplinary action.”

In addition to the proposed committee, which he is planning on naming the “vehicle accident review board,” Ibarra wants to initiate a point system for employees who are found at fault.

“If an officer has too many points within one calendar year then the officer could lose driving privileges, which for him to drive is a condition of employment,” he said. “It’s a fair, methodical system that’s transparent and fair.”

He added that remedial training would also be a part of punishment for an employee found at fault.

“This will be a policy for the entire city,” Ibarra said. “Any city employee driving a city vehicle should be held to a higher standard.”

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