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Woman Sentenced to Year in Prison for Ramming Police Cruiser Near US Capitol

What to Know

  • Woman accused of crashing into a police cruiser near the US Capitol pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers, destruction of property.
  • Mia K. Hill, who also goes by Taleah Everett, will spend a year in prison.
  • Relatives told News4 she has suffered from mental illness.

A Maryland woman who triggered a major security scare on Capitol Hill in March 2017 will spend one year in prison.

Mia K. Hill, who also goes by the name Taleah Everett, pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers and destruction of property.

Prosecutors said Hill ignored police commands to stop her, then crashed into a police cruiser while driving erratically near the U.S. Botanic Garden and U.S. Capitol. They said she ran a red light, made an obscene hand gesture and nearly hit two pedestrians while driving up Independence Avenue. Officers smashed out her windows and eventually opened fire, when she ignored commands to stop, according to the charging documents.

The bullets did not strike anyone, but left two bullet holes in the front windshield of her Chevrolet.

In a sentencing memo, prosecutors said, “The manner in which Hill operated her vehicle during the course of these disturbing minutes near the Capitol posed a serious danger to those around her.”

Federal officials said the incident created a large scare on Capitol Hill. In a memo to the court, prosecutors said, “Defendant’s intentions could not have been known at the time of this incident — which occurred just one week after an attack on Great Britain’s Parliament, in which a driver plowed into a group of people, killing five and wounding dozens more.”

Hill’s aunt, Bonnie Everett, told News4 in 2017 that Taleah Everett had serious mental health issues. The former Ballou High School student from Southeast D.C. had been diagnosed with bipolar depression and had psychotic behavior, she said.

Her family was desperate for help and tried to get help several times. Less than two weeks ago, Everett's aunt filed a petition at a Prince George's County courthouse for an emergency health evaluation. A judge denied the request, the young woman's aunt said.

"We know that she needs help. Unfortunately the judge didn't see that, and this is the result of her not getting the care that we know she desperately needed," she said.

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