New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the guilty plea of former NYPD Officer Bernadine Thomas for criminally negligent homicide. Thomas, 36, from Maybrook, Orange County, admitted to causing her husband's death by driving at speeds up to 109 MPH with a blood alcohol content of .10 on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Rockland County on February 26, 2023. The plea was entered before County Court Judge Kevin Russo in Rockland County.
Thomas will remain free on bail until her sentencing on May 7, 2025. She faces five years' probation as part of her guilty plea and has waived her right to appeal.
The incident occurred in the early hours of February 26, 2023. Thomas was off-duty and driving northbound with her husband in the passenger seat when their vehicle left the road and hit a tree. Her husband was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, the Office of Special Investigation (OSI) reviews incidents where an officer may have caused a person's death through action or omission. This applies whether the officer is on-duty or off-duty and regardless of whether the deceased was armed or unarmed or in custody. If OSI's assessment suggests an officer may be responsible for a death, it conducts a full investigation.