Maryland: Cops line up for blood drive named for Md. officer hit during traffic stop

The Red Cross blood drive at the Montgomery County Police Headquarters in Gaithersburg had been scheduled for months. Then an email blast went out to the department saying that the drive had been renamed to honor Officer Noah Leotta, and suddenly, all the available slots to donate were filled.

Wednesday morning, among the first to donate blood was Police Chief Tom Manger. He joked as he was prepped to donate that he might cry when the needle went in, or that he might faint.

But turning serious as he spoke to reporters, Manger said it was no surprise to him that more than 100 people — members of the public as well as police — were quick to sign up to donate blood.

“Noah saved lives while he was working, and he’s saving lives here today,” Manger said.

The 24-year-old officer was hit and killed by a car driven by a man police say had been drinking. The crash remains under investigation, but has galvanized efforts to toughen drunken driving laws in Maryland.

Leotta was hit while he was working as a member of a drunken driving enforcement task force. The young officer had volunteered to work that detail. He died a week later.