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Off-duty state trooper charged with plowing into State Police cruiser in breakdown lane while drunk and on drugs
By adamg on Mon, 11/25/2013 - 11:12am
UPDATE: Judge Benjamin Barnes ordered D'Amato released on personal recognizance when he's well enough to get out of Mass. General, where he's being treated for his injuries, the DA's office reports. The judge banned him from driving, however. Both his alleged victims are now out of the hospital.
State Police have charged one of their own for a crash this morning on Rte. 1 that sent a cruiser occupied by a State Trooper into the car he had stopped for motor-vehicle violations.
Shawn D'Amato, 43, will be arraigned on charges of operating under the influence of drugs, operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to change lanes for an emergency vehicle in Chelsea District Court as soon as doctors at Mass. General, where he is being treated for the injuries he suffered, say he is well enough,.
According to State Police, D'Amato, who was assigned to the Logan Airport barracks, was driving a Corolla south on Rte. 1 in Revere just past Rte. 16 around 1 a.m.:
The cruiser, a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria, was behind a 2002 Honda Accord operated by a 29-year-old Chelsea man, who had been pulled over for motor vehicle violations. The trooper who conducted the motor vehicle stop, Trooper John Phonesavanh, was seated in his cruiser with his emergency lights activated, writing a citation, when the cruiser was struck from behind by D’AMATO’s vehicle. The impact pushed the cruiser forward into the Honda.
Trooper Phonesavanh, who is assigned to the Revere Barracks, called in the crash himself and began checking on the condition of the other drivers. Firefighters and ambulance crews responded and treated all three operators, who were all transported to Massachusetts General Hospital. Trooper Phonesavanh and the Chelsea man also suffered non-life threatening injuries.
State Police suspended D'Amato and confiscated his department gun. D'Amato, on the force since 1994, faces an internal hearing later this week.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
Staties See The Light?
This is two troopers that I know of charged with drunk driving in the past four months. A crash in Plymouth which killed two back in September was caused by an off duty Jodhpured wearer. The identity of the driver was kept under wraps for a week until it finally came out that, yes, an off duty trooper was drunk and was involved in the crash.
I know the UHub audience is more Boston / Cambridge / Brookline police centric and have less interaction with the State Police other than maybe driving on VFW Parkway or getting yelled at for dropping your wife at the airport, but what the hell is going on at the MSP?
Maybe this disclosure being done so fast was part of their way of showing that they might be actually held accountable for standards of disclosure and behavior that the public might be deserving?
I saw a cop sleeping in his car last week
So yeah, our community might be a wee bit overstaffed with cops.
D'Amoto? More like De'Moto!
D'Amoto? More like De'Moto!
color me shocked!!!
noooo, not a statie? is the the same police dept that is tasked with overseeing all the state drug lab cases?
Sucks to be the Honda Owner
I feel bad for the Honda owner. You're getting a ticket when all of a sudden the cop car smashes into the back of your car due to the impact of being hit by a 2nd cop. Now the cop who pulled you over is hurt and person who hit him, another cop, is drunk and high. This is going to be a hard one to explain to the insurance company.
I hope the Honda owner and the guy pulling him over recover quick. I also hope the drunk cop looses his job, pension, and other benefits.
Not hard at all
given the standard of fault in Massachusetts that states a vehicle that rear-ends you (in this case, the statie's cruiser) is more than 50% at fault. If you're stopped (as the Honda driver was), most insurance companies consider the vehicle that hit you to be 100% at fault.
Million dollar question: If found guilty, will he be fired?
Hopefully we can stay informed about this case. The first qualification of a cop should be respect for the law.
unacceptable.
Massachusetts constantly boasts of its zero tolerance policy on DUI. Fine, prove it to us now.
People get arrested all the time for weaving in their lane, etc., and these guys are plowing into other vehilces killing people.....??? Of course they all plead not guilty and just wanna get back to work - no concern for the victims or the injured. Another one, BPD Richard Jeanetti crashed drunk into 2 vehicles last year in Hyde Park and almost killed a girl. Or how about Lt. Thomas McCarthy driving drunk leading Saugus police on a dangerous high-speed chase trying to escape and then resisting arrest.
These are NOT the people who should be in that job, and it should be one strike, you're gone. There are so many people on waiting lists and going to the police academies trying to get these jobs, there is absolutely nobreason to keep the bad seeds. And we always have to hear, 'Cops are people too and people make mistakes.' bla bla. Yes, totally agree, And they should pay the consequences of their mistakes like everyone else does.