LAUREL, M.d. — The terrifying moments when a car tried to drive through the busy Laurel Main Street Festival on Saturday morning were all caught on camera.
"Her behavior was so reckless and so dangerous," Laurel Police Department Deputy Chief Mark Plazinski said. "She made she made it a lot worse than it needed to be."
On Monday a judge denied bond for the accused driver behind the wheel, Kai Deberry-Bostick.
VIDEO: Judge denies bond for woman accused of driving through festival
The 28-year-old is facing six misdemeanor charges including second degree assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.
Laurel police say it began when she realized she was stuck by the road closures for the annual affair when she needed to get to work.
The officer on the scene can be heard in the edited clips of body worn camera released by the department offering to help Deberry get a ride.
Deberry-Bostick:
"There has to be another way. I'm not taking a taxi all the way to Virginia. I work in Virginia"
Officer:
"I understand. and I apologize for the inconvenience."
But when she was told she could not leave again, the interaction quickly escalates.
Officer:
"Please do not disturb this area"
Deberry-Bostick:
"I might have to"
On video, Deberry is seen getting out of the car, breaking the caution tape attached to traffic barrels blocking her way and gets back in her car, proceeding to turn onto Main Street, despite repeated orders from the officer to stop the car.
Also in the video, a woman is seen pulling a child out of the way of the BMW. Quickly thereafter other festival goers try to get Deberry to stop, some yelling loudly, others banging on the car.
WMAR-2 News is told the officer was injured but is expected to be okay.
Plazinski says there is no excuse as signage and public messaging leading up to the event indicated the road would be blocked off for hours.
"I's a miracle that we're talking about what we're talking about now, signage, as opposed to what could have been a tragic event here in the city," Plazinski said.
It was already an out of ordinary day for the long running festival that draws thousands to the D.C. suburb, as a propane tank exploded earlier the same day as vendors were setting up, canceling the festival's parade.
After her arrest, police say Deberry continued to resist officers. According to charging documents she failed take accountability for her actions, laughing at one point and telling police "I don't see what I did wrong."
Plazinski says they'll be reviewing what worked and what didn't as is normal practice after a large event, so changes could be coming.
"One thing that I wouldn't change is how our officers responded not only to to this incident but to the propane tank blowing up earlier in the morning and just the heroic courageous efforts that they put in to keep our residents safe here in the city," he said.
Laurel Board of Trade runs the festival.
President Marilyn Jonhson says they will also be reviewing the incident and next year's event is still scheduled to take place next May.
A court date for Deberry is scheduled in July.
