A rookie New Haven police officer has been charged in a hit-and-run that severely injured a teenage girl.
Marquis Morrison, 24, was arrested Friday. He was charged with hitting 14-year-old Niije Kelly with his motorcycle on North Frontage Road and Sherman Street April 30. Morrison fled the scene after the accident, police said.
Morrison had graduated from the New Haven Police Academy on April 1, and was an officer-in-training at the time of the incident, according to police.
"This arrest should send a message to the community that we will hold all of the members of our department completely accountable," Police Chief Frank Limon said.
Morrison was charged with felony evading responsibility, reckless driving, operating a motorcycle without a license, reckless endangerment, interfering with police and tampering or fabricating evidence. He's been on unpaid medical leave since the incident, and has now been placed on administrative duty pending termination proceedings before the Board of Police Commissioners, according to police.
The victim suffered two broken legs and has undergone several surgeries since the accident, according to the New Haven Register.
