Judge tells former police officer "no excuse" for his behavior

By Sarah Barr

Staff Writer

A former city of Rockville police officer is banned from any law enforcement duty while he serves probation for two assaults that occurred when he started a drunken brawl at a local restaurant last December.

District Court Judge James Sarsfield sentenced John Ferguson, 33, to an 18-month suspended prison term — which means he will not actually go to jail — and two years probation last Thursday, after he pled guilty to two counts of assault.

The fight happened late on the night of Dec. 14 when Ferguson, then a member of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, headed to Clyde's Restaurant with other members of his company following a holiday party.

At Clyde's, Ferguson stepped between a husband and wife seated at the bar and rubbed his buttocks against the woman. Her husband told Ferguson to stop twice and was turning back to the bar when Ferguson punched him in the face, according to police reports.

Ferguson walked away but then returned in the direction of the man with four other members of his party. During the fight that then broke out, Ferguson threw a pint glass at the man, resulting in a cut above his eye that required seven stitches, and he struck another woman in the face.

Defense Attorney David Martella told the court that Ferguson has "a very spotty memory of everything that happened that night" because of his alcohol consumption.

"I just want to apologize to the victims, my co-workers, my family," said Ferguson, who was fired by the City of Rockville police department after his plea hearing in May. He is currently living in Pennsylvania with his wife and young son but lacks permanent employment.

Martella told the court that the sentence is "a double edged sword." Ferguson cannot work in law enforcement for the next two years and will likely never do so again. However, the stress of his job had been wearing on Ferguson after a burglary suspect fired at him during a chase about 18 months before the fight.

As a result, Ferguson "went to work everyday thinking, 'Is this really what I want to be doing?'" said Martella, who described Ferguson's attendance at the party as an attempt to blow off steam.

As part of his sentence Ferguson is also required to perform 30 hours of community service, pay a fine of $2,500 - with all but $500 of it suspended, and undergo substance abuse treatment and anger management counseling as necessary.

"I know that I need to work on things and I'm working on them now," Ferguson said at the sentencing.

Scarfield told Ferguson that he believed he was remorseful but that there was "no excuse whatsoever" for his behavior. He added that Ferguson's actions reflect poorly on all public officials who should be "entitled to enjoy the admiration of those citizens they protect."