In today’s news, another cop caught drunk driving and hiding behind the Blue Wall….
Judge Lets Off Statie Chased by Officers
Boston, MA. July 17 — The state police captain who yesterday admitted prosecutors had enough to prove he was guilty of leading Saugus cops on a late-night chase could be back patrolling Bay State highways in days after a judge gave him a break, state police and prosecutors say.
A Lynn District Court judge continued motor vehicle charges against Capt. Thomas McCarthy without a finding, meaning if the 47-year-old superior officer keeps his nose clean for six months, the charges will be wiped from his record…
Prosecutors had sought drunken driving charges against McCarthy, of Stoneham, after police said he smelled of booze and had an open beer in his cruiser when police stopped him on Route 1 in Saugus on Nov. 19, but a clerk magistrate said there was “insufficient evidence,” because cops never performed a field sobriety test.
Further information was provided in another newspaper article today:
….Saugus Police Officer James Scott’s report said McCarthy led Scott and other officers on a pursuit down Route 1 and in Saugus on Nov. 19, 2011. Scott noticed the smell of alcohol on McCarthy’s breath, according to Scott’s report, and officers found an empty beer bottle and two unopened bottles in what State Police last November described as McCarthy’s unmarked cruiser…
Scott wrote in his report that he spotted a black sedan “cross over the center yellow line on numerous occasions” on Central Street just before 11 p.m. last Nov. 19.
The car’s driver did not initially pull over when Scott activated his cruiser lights, but subsequently pulled over on Main Street, according to the report.
Scott recognized McCarthy and “could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath,” according to the report.
Scott asked McCarthy to get out of the car at which point McCarthy told him, “You’ve got to be kidding me, I’m outta here,” according to the report.
Scott and two other Saugus police cruisers pursued McCarthy onto Route 1 and into Square One Mall near Sears, where McCarthy stopped. McCarthy, according to reports, did not initially follow Scott’s orders to throw his keys out of the car.
After he got out of the car, McCarthy refused, according to Scott, to put one arm behind his back. Scott grabbed McCarthy’s right arm and pulled him to the ground, according to the report…
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the double standard known as the "Blue Code", see a few of my past posts: The Blue Cover-Up, Guarding the Guardians, The DUI Double Standard and Crossing the Thin Blue Line.
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