A retired Howard County police officer was given probation yesterday after accepting a plea agreement on a charge that he choked his 5-year-old daughter during a domestic dispute in June.
Dale Lewis Hill, a Hagerstown resident who retired with a pension in August, entered into the agreement on a child abuse charge shortly before his Howard Circuit Court trial was to start.
Mr. Hill, 41, entered an Alford plea, which means he did not admit guilt but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him.
The defendant, who joined the department in 1984 after working as a firefighter and state fire marshal, blamed his alcoholism for the June 27 incident.
"I'm sorry I'm here today," Mr. Hill told Judge Cornelius Sybert Jr. "I had no intention of harming my daughter."
Judge Sybert said he accepted the plea agreement after talking with Mr. Hill's estranged wife, whom the judge said was "vehemently" in favor of the arrangement.
The judge granted Mr. Hill probation before judgment, which will spare the defendant a criminal record as long as he receives counseling and attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings during his two-year probationary period.
But Judge Sybert warned Mr. Hill that if he did not meet the terms of his probation, a guilty verdict would be entered on his record.
"It's not a threat, it's a promise to you," Judge Sybert told Mr. Hill. "It's strictly up to you. You know what will happen if I see you again in this case."
Kathi Hill, a Carroll County prosecutor who handled the case to avoid a conflict of interest for Howard prosecutors, dropped charges of assault and battery as part of the plea agreement. She is not related to the defendant.
Mr. Hill, who served as president of the Howard County Police Officers' Association, could have been sentenced up to 55 years in prison if he had been convicted of all the charges against him.
The prosecution asserted that the incident occurred while Mr. Hill was arguing with his wife, who attempted to leave their Elkridge home after she discovered he had been drinking.
Mr. Hill pushed the woman from the house and locked her out while their two children still were inside, prosecutors said. They said she looked into the house through a window and saw Mr. Hill with his hands around their daughter's throat.
A neighbor reported to police that the girl later came running from the house, holding her neck and crying, "My daddy choked me."
Jason Shapiro, a Laurel attorney representing Mr. Hill, told Judge Sybert that his client did not recall the incident because he was drunk.
Mr. Shapiro said Mr. Hill did not acknowledge his drinking problem until the incident, which he described as a "wake-up call." He noted that Mr. Hill sought treatment for his alcoholism immediately afterward.
The attorney told Judge Sybert that he and his client began considering the plea agreement during jury selection.
"You've had just three hours to think about this," Mr. Shapiro said to his client. "Are you sure you want to proceed with this?"
Yes, I do," Mr. Hill responded.
Mr. Hill is to appear for a hearing Thursday before a master in chancery to determine if he can have visitation with his daughter and 3-year-old son while he and his wife try to reconcile, Mr. Shapiro said.