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Monica Goods, 11 and indicted NY State Trooper Christopher Baldner, (Our360 News)
Yesterday, a judge in New York's Ulster County ordered Trooper Christopher Baldner held without bail until his trial in the death of Monica Goods, whose family was traveling through the Hudson Valley on Dec. 22, 2020 when Baldner stopped them for speeding.
During the traffic stop, Baldner pepper sprayed the vehicle at which point Monica’s father, Tristin Goods, drove off. Officer Baldner pursued the family's SUV and rammed his police car into the vehicle twice. According to prosecutors, the SUV slammed into a guardrail and flipped over several times, ejecting Monica Goods. The SUV eventually came to rest upside down.
Monica, 11, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"She could make anybody laugh, it doesn't matter how you felt and it hurts that we don't have that no more," said Goods' mother, Michelle Surrency. "We were robbed and it's not fair. It's not fair."
Surrency, says her other daughter, who was in the car at the time, has suffered emotional trauma and will never be the same.
Last week, Baldner was indicted on charges of murder, manslaughter and reckless endangerment. The case is being prosecuted by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, which has jurisdiction over deaths caused by police officers.
"Police officers are entrusted to protect and serve, but Trooper Baldner allegedly violated that trust when he used his car as a deadly weapon and killed a young girl," said James. "While nothing will bring Monica back, we must hold law enforcement to the highest standards, which is why my office is committed to seeking justice in this case."
According to police records, Baldner had been involved in two previous incidents where he rammed his police car into other vehicles from behind.
Despite petitioning from Baldner's attorneys and the state troopers’ Police Benevolent Association, the judge rejected the possibility of cash bail and home confinement.
Outside of court, supporters of the Goods family held signs calling for justice to be served in the case.
“We’re still at the beginning of this fight," Monica's mother, Michelle Surrency, said outside of court. "He got remanded today. Well, that’s where he deserves to be.”