Heather Cook Isn't the First High-Ranking Episcopal Bishop Who Struggled With Alcohol, but She Could Be First to Pay After Cyclist's Death
"Once you get to 0.30 percent you're talking about 'possibility of death.' And to be able to function to even a drive a car at 0.27 percent means that she was/remains a functional alcoholic, and you don't just shake that off in a couple of years, especially if people are bending over backwards to be nice to you," he continued.
"Fast forward four years, and the chance that she was driving impaired is significant — and certainly a major candidate for her decision to flee the scene. She's a despicable person and whoever decided that her prior conviction should be suppressed so she could remain a candidate for bishop should be held accountable for that terrible decision too," he added.
At least one advocacy group on Facebook that popped up since Thomas Palermo's death is demanding that Cook be charged with homicide.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
@BBCWorld This is the windshield of her car that she drove off in after she killed Thomas Palermo. pic.twitter.com/8sy2g8WuOA
— jwetz (@jwetz) December 29, 2014"Heather Cook is hoping that things quiet down, and that everything goes away. But little does she know that we have a small army of motivated people who wish to seek justice for Tom Palermo. We need to find out EXACTLY what Heather Cook was doing the day of Dec. 27, leading up to the accident," noted the Facebook community of more than 2,500 pushing for the bishop to be charged with homicide, Wednesday. "I'm sure there are people out there who encountered Cook and know what she was doing that day. If you or someone you know saw her that day, WE NEED YOUR HELP."
Cook is on administrative leave from the Diocese with full pay and attendant benefits as a disciplinary proceeding, known internally as Title IV for the section of the church's constitution dealing with discipline procedures has been launched against her by the church.
She might eventually be dismissed or face an Ecclesiastical trial but the church says her fate as it concerns the secular authorities is out of their hands now.
"Heather Cook's future is not in the clergy's hands; it depends on the police report and state's attorney's office," said church spokeswoman Sharon Tillman this week.
Todd H. Oppenheim, a defense attorney from Baltimore, however, believes Cook should have already been charged with a crime but believes she's being treated differently because of her socioeconomic status and political connections.
"Palermo died 10 days ago and still no charges have been filed by the State's Attorney's Office against the driver of the vehicle that hit him. Why? Based on my experience as an attorney in the Public Defender's Office for 10 years, I believe one key factor is at work. Heather Elizabeth Cook, who drove into Palermo and fled as he lay dying, is a member of the upper tier of Baltimore's socioeconomic ladder as the Suffragan Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland," he wrote in an op-ed in the Baltimore Brew.
"Right now, especially given her prior DUI arrest in Caroline County, Bishop Cook should be facing charges of failing to remain at the scene of an accident causing death. This is a very serious charge. A hit-and-run with a fatality is a felony offense that carries 10 years of jail time in Maryland," he continued.
"Instead, she remains free and 'lawyered up' with a veteran Towson attorney who has represented many high-profile clients for a substantial fee. My clients can't afford an attorney of their choice, and they certainly never get the opportunity to preemptively hire an attorney," he said.
