Rio Rancho PD officer rear-ends driver, her fourth incident in 2 year

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RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) - A Rio Rancho Police Officer with a track record of crashes in her patrol car says she was reaching for something when she rear-ended another driver last month.
Rio Rancho Officer Brittany Mahnesmith totaled her unit and damaged another person's car in mid-April.

Officer: "Morning. What happened?"
Mahnesmith: "I wasn't paying attention, just f***ing rear-ended him."
On April 17, Mahnesmith rear-ended that driver while headed south on 528 in her marked Rio Rancho unit.
She admits she was distracted.
Officer: "Were you on your phone?"
Mahnesmith: "No. I went to go grab like, my chapstick or something, and I look down for a second, then f***ing..."

Talking to one another, officers started to question Mahnesmith's story.
Officer to other officer: "Yes, I mean she told me she said she just wasn't paying attention. She said she was reaching for a chapstick, or 'something.'"
Officer 1: "She's going to be in a lot of trouble for this one."
Officer 2: "Well, it's definitely citable, careless driving."

Last June, she also rear-ended someone. The report says she was distracted by the computer in her patrol car.
Last August, she backed into her unit with her personal vehicle in her driveway.
Then in February, she collided with a red-light runner.
A spokesperson with Rio Rancho Police did confirm Officer Mahnesmith is under internal investigation after this latest incident. Police would not provide us with any other details.

http://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/rio-rancho-police-officer-totals-unit-after-rear-ending-driver/1163491561