sir sir just stand over here for me all right please I'm going to go back in the [ __ ] no you're not going back in the casino all right sir sir sir I understand you are the sheriff I respect that immensely but right now I'm conducting an investigation okay I need you to stay here and follow the direction on September 21st a police chief's Reckless decision led to a scene he likely wishes to forget while driving a state owned SUV from a West Springfield Country Club to a casino the chief Hidden Object destroying a tire and damaging the rim Beyond repair under Massachusetts general laws chapter 90 section 24 operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs is strictly prohibited and Carries severe penalties upon arrival at the casino officers noted signs of impairment including the smell of alcohol and slurred speech how you doing Sheriff good very good good hi lieuten what that who's busting what change his tire okay just let you know we came down to this uh we are recording just so you know uh what happen I was going around the corner I popped the tire do you know where we're trying to we were looking to see where you were in the casino and everything and it's all good it's all good change this tire okay okay all right the problem is hang on for a second were you the one driving it no you weren't driving it no okay who was driving you a friend of mine a friend of your he's in the casino now y okay we'll see that too all right but I need you to stay here for for a second all right sir none of us wants to be involved in this all right but I can I can I can smell I can smell alcohol coming from your breath I've got this right here everything's on camera I got to take it by the Numbers change the tire I got to take it by the Numbers we're going to review if your friend in there was driving to you say we'll see that on the camera I can go talk to him everything will be good all right what's that okay right sit tight when confronted by responding officers the police chief initially denied driving and claimed a friend had been at the wheel however his admission to drinking a couple of beers before driving raised immediate suspicion while field sobriety tests are voluntary under Massachusetts law refusing them can still raise doubts about a driver's sobriety the chief's refusal to perform these tests further complicated his defense once you're off the phone I'm waiting for a few more people to get here and and we'll we'll talk it through okay I'm just waiting for the field OIC to come down all right once the field OIC is down here we'll we'll talk it through okay seriously I'll tell you what leave the car here leave it no sir I sir I'm going to ask you to stay here stay put all right why so we figure this out because based on what I'm seeing here and and and smelling alcohol on your breath I'm going to have to do an investigation through this okay okay all right and if everything is fine you know if if if it determines that there's no change the tire no he's not changing the tire right now Absol he can change the tire he's not changing the tire yet yeah okay want to go down Road huh okay I want to take everything right by the number buy the numbers and buy the book sir that's what we do that's correct y all right and if at the end of it everything is good stop turning toward sir sir just stand over here for me all right please I'm going to go back in the [ __ ] no you're not going back in the casino all right sir sir sir I understand you are the sheriff I respect that immensely but right now I'm conducting an investigation MH okay I need you to stay here and follow the directions all right you can't pop the tire huh what's that you can't pop a tire you're not going to be able to put a tire on that Rim anyways that Rim is completely an utterly destroyed I got my guy okay sir okay where uh do you know where you ran something over where was it we up on the corner and I I took the turn took the turn into here y okay there looks like there's a plant on there was there a plant that might have been might have been but that's where it was so the remnants of the tire should be down should be down that way you don't know I have no idea okay can I ask you where you're coming from todaying Springfield Country mod Springfield Country mod yeah all right the golf tournament no no no we're just there we there playing golf we're there playing golf okay yeah what are you waiting for I'm waiting for another another one of my supervisors we can have two people here okay all right that way everything's everything's reported everything's expected everything's going to be nice and easy okay sir all right Officer Cotto can you head down to the corner at East Columbus and just see if there's any remnants of the tire there at all that's where you were and there was nothing there the right the right may not be may not be where you hit it that's S I hit it but okay did you after turning in here and and hitting it did you drive anywhere else where we could find the tire no no so okay just the tire should be somewhere between where that was it in here okay you just give me a favor one more time just walk down there and then walk the whole way back see if we can find the tire someone coming over from we're going to take a walk over where we're a little bit out of sight okay no how much you had to drink ni sir couple beers couple beers yeah keep recording me we're not going nowhere okay I'd like to ask you to do field surviving nope not going to happen not going to happen I'm not driving yeah feel sobriety for what well you drove in that was a long time ago what's up Nikki I'm I'm bu my car nope no I no no it's all good yep all right now right security right inside if you need to address something there where the Mass Mutual Center is it's across the street on the other side of the casino yeah can you stand with him for a second sir as the investigation progressed officers documented clear indicators of intoxication including red eyes and unsteady Behavior under Massachusetts general laws chapter 90 section 24 subsection 1 sub subsection F Sub sub subsection 1 refusing a breathalyzer test can result in automatic license suspension signaling an implied acknowledgment of guilt the Chief was subsequently arrested transported to the barracks and relieved of his keys wallet and phone for evidence and safekeeping sir when you went into the casino did you have any drinks in the casino negative you did not have any drinks in the casino that's what we're waiting on right now we're trying to figure out if you went in and had anything inside zero you had nothing inside so anything was at the golf course yep okay and sir it was from East Columbus on the MGM way where you think you hit that I think so yeah all right sure can you come over here I want to talk to you a little bit more all right I'd like you I'm going to be very straightforward with you all right you came from East Columbus you turned in here we can't find the tire that's fine there's clear indications that that Rim is pretty destroyed yeah okay okay um you got here about 6:40 something 6:45 so maybe 25 25 minutes before you and I start interacting somewhere around a half hour all right you've got clear indications of alcohol consumption all right tell that your yep you've had mid ALC you got your speech a little bit slurred all right I can smell it coming off your breath I can see the redness in your eyes I'd ask you if I'm going to ask you a second time if you will perform field SRI so I determine if you are safe to drive okay I have a pvt that can sort this out right now not going to happen okay so you're going to refuse field sobriety all right not going to take the BBT you have mid alcohol consumption all right a little bit driving okay okay if that's what you're assume your wallet's inside the car we're going to go ahead and grab that for you okay all right can you take can you just sit with him for a minute I'll take him a mik cruiser all right so this is your wallet right here all right what I'm going to do is I'm going to put it in your pocket so you have it with you all right when we get to the get to the barracks is there a phone somewhere that you'd like to bring uh in my pocket yeah your pocket all right can I put this tin in your vehicle we don't have to take it all right so you got your wallet over here this your phone right in the back right this is just a a golf te I'm going to put that right in here as well okay all right we're going to walk down to my unmarked uh Sergeant we have you come with me as well all right to let it can fix it them no if they're if they're if they're able to fix it we don't need to we don't need to tow tow County vehicle if there if he's able to fix it and we can get somebody who is properly can drive it all right the keys are inside there see for a sec so the keys are right in the middle uh there's also a $50 bill do you want me to leave that in there yeah or do you want it with you you're comfortable who do you want to take possession of that vehicle is it okay that gentleman right there works for you he does and you can arrange for someone to take it yep that's fine we can get out of here properly that's fine it's going to be the blackv at the very end careful you just yeah you can move anything over there and just ride with me less than 48 hours after the arrest the police chief faced the consequences in court he admitted to facts sufficient to Warrant a guilty finding consistent with Massachusetts general laws chapter 90 section 24d which outlines penalties for firsttime offenders the court sentenced him to onee of probation a 45-day license suspension and mandatory completion of a driver alcohol education program while the court offered the possibility of case dismissal upon successful completion of probation the incident left a mark on the chief's reputation Massachusetts law emphasizes that no one is above the law including those sworn to uphold it the destroyed SUV combined with the public nature of the arrest serves as a reminder of the risks and consequences of impaired driving like And subscribe for more police cam stories watch the next recommended video click to watch now