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Saugus Police arrest State Police captain, who faces criminal, internal-affairs investigations

A State Police captain will likely be suspended today over a Saturday incident in which he allegedly refused to stop for Saugus Police investigating an activated residential burglar alarm, State Police say, adding he may have been drunk at the time.

Thomas McCarthy, 47, had his cruiser and gun seized pending a hearing today on his duty status, State Police say in a statement. McCarthy was commander of Troop C, which covers central Massachusetts.

According to State Police, Saugus officers responding to the alarm found McCarthy, off duty at the time, sitting in his unmarked cruiser at the house. The Globe reports the house belongs to his girlfriend, with whom he was having an argument.

McCarthy drove away, police then watched him swerve across lanes on Centre Street at Main Street. When an officer managed to stop the Crown Victoria and approached the car and ordered him out, McCarthy instead drove away, State Police say.

The Saugus officer, eventually joined by two other Saugus cruisers, all with blue lights activated, followed McCarthy onto the Main Street overpass and down onto Route 1 southbound. McCarthy ultimately pulled over in the parking lot outside the Sears Automotive Center at the Square One Mall.

McCarthy was charged with failing to stop for police and failing to stay right. He was not charged with OUI, although State Police say:

A State Police commander also responded to the Saugus police station that night and immediately placed McCarthy on administrative leave pending his duty status hearing. That commander, upon speaking to McCarthy, observed in him signs of intoxication.

State Police Internal Affairs is looking into McCarthy's behavior and "other alleged transgressions."

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Comments

Staties are going to have it out for them big time, having "crossed" the "thin blue line"

Here's what happened down in Florida recently:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/04/2486268/fhp-...

Dollars to donuts that Watts now has an unmarked unit watching over her house 24x7.

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Staties are not going to care about the Saugus police in this one. Hell, many cops love it when stuff like this happens to high ranking brass.

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He was not charged with OUI

That's the real scandal here. Never mind the investigation of this captain, how about an investigation of the Saugus cops who let him off the hook? Sure, he's in the doghouse at work, but if he'd had any other job, he'd be in trouble with the law AND at work.

Being a cop is a tough job, but lots of people have tough jobs. It shouldn't give you carte blanche to get away with all but the most egregious violations of the law.

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This is a police captain who got arrested and charged with a serious crime. An OUIL charge is the least of this guys worries.

And no, most jobs would never find out if you got arrested for a misdeamnor like this. So it makes it worse for him that he probably will lose his job because of this.

Although many cops will get a free pass from other cops, there are many cops who get arrested for OUIL in this state (see the Truro chief who was arrested by his own men). If the Saugus police wanted to cover something up, they could have not chased the guy in the first place.

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Why is OUI still a misdemeanor offense?

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And most of them are defense attorneys.

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