Monday, July 16, 2012

The Class of the Town

Many Police Officers are dedicated public servants: this man isn't one of them. 

He was caught driving the wrong way on Memorial Drive - that's a expressway that runs along the Charles River in Cambridge, MA. The speed limit is approx. 35 mph, but most cars do between 40 and 50 mph. Its designed to get traffic flowing AROUND the cramped city innards. 

Well this State policeman, off-duty, got drunk and started driving down this expressway THE WRONG WAY. Meaning he was about to hit another car IN A HEAD-ON COLLISION before he was stopped. 

Understand something: if you're driving 40 mph and you hit another car HEAD ON going 40 mph, this is the same as you hitting a wall, head on, at 80 mph. Do you think you're walking away from that one?

In other words, you are nearly GUARANTEED TO DIE. Head on collision victims go to the morgue, not the hospital. The ones that make to the hospital are vegetables. Ask the ER doctors.
So what was done to this off-duty cop? NOTHING. He was eventually fired from the State Police. Whoa, nelly. How vicious. Fired. He lost his job. And how about operating under the influence? OUI? That carries stiff penalties and jail time. Any charges filed? NOPE. Why? 
Because the cops who pulled him over DIDN'T EVEN PERFORM A BREATHALYZER TEST. 
Why do I harp about these incidents over and over again? Because they are COMMON PLACE. Because it is a sign that the police consider themselves ABOVE THE LAW, when the U.S. Constitution dictates NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.

Let me ask you something. The police are paid by the state to protect you. But from what I can tell, what they do best is protect the state, and protect each other, especially from the laws that govern you and me.

This is what happens when cops take their cues from politicians.
 

The Massachusetts State Police fired the trooper who was observed, in April, to be driving the wrong way on Memorial Drive in Cambridge.

Trooper Adam Paicos was off-duty when he was spotted driving in the wrong direction. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to a press release from the Mass. State Police.

In addition to the Memorial Drive incident, in May, Paicos was observed by a senior command officer engaging in further conduct unbecoming a state trooper. Both incidents occurred while Paicos was off-duty and he was still under probationary employment status.

The termination comes as a result of information developed during a State Police Internal Affairs administrative investigation into Paicos’ actions on the two separate dates within the past three months.

State police also terminated Trooper David Lemar after an Internal Affairs investigation found numerous charges against him.

Charges include, unbecoming conduct; neglect of duty; unsatisfactory performance; use of department equipment for non-job related purposes; and lack of truthfulness.

State police began an internal investigation into Lemar’s actions in 2010 after state, federal, and local authorities investigated accusations of wrongdoing at spas in southeastern Massachusetts. Lemar has been suspended without pay since that time. Lemar is not presently charged criminally.

When asked for details surrounding these firings, a state police spokesperson said there would be no further comment on the press release.

Colonel Marian J. McGovern, superintendent of Department, issued the following statement:
“Being a Massachusetts state trooper carries a responsibility for the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior. When a department member fails to meet those standards, we investigate thoroughly and, if warranted, discipline accordingly. Yesterday’s terminations came as a result of our investigations determining that neither former trooper was fit to serve in the manner we demand and that the citizens of the Commonwealth deserve.”

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