Maryland: Baltimore police officer arrested after high-speed chase, police say

A Baltimore City police sergeant who was arrested on New Year's morning after what a police report describes as a high-speed chase has been released on bond.

Sgt. Francisco Hopkins was off duty at the time of the incident, which was reported around 3 a.m. Friday. The police report says he made it known right away that he is a police officer.

The incident started as a routine traffic stop on Pulaski Highway near Golden Ring. A state trooper pulled over a car for failing to display a front tag.

According to the trooper's report, the encounter escalated fast.

In the report, the trooper quoted the driver as saying, "Your (sic) going to give another cop a ticket?"

"He called me an (expletive) then accelerated, aggressively spinning (his) wheels," the report says.

The trooper activated lights and siren and a pursuit headed east on Pulaski Highway. The driver of the 2015 Mustang, identified as Hopkins, allegedly reached a speed of 149 mph. The trooper was using radar.

"He was up to a 149 mph in a 50 mph posted zone," Maryland State Police spokeswoman Elena Russo said. "What's ironic is this trooper, who was out there patrolling our highways to keep people safe from impaired drivers, came across this instance with somebody who was not impaired, however was driving at this amount."

The trooper caught up with Hopkins in a line of traffic at a red light. The report said Hopkins was still slow to comply with the trooper's order.