Crime & Safety

Man Who Filmed Sleeping Trooper Pulled Over Minutes Later: Report

Marlborough's Nick Ford said he was stopped for using an electronic device after taking the video. "I felt it was retaliation," he said.

A man said he was pulled over roughly three minutes after taking a video of a Massachusetts State Police trooper who appeared to be sleeping on the job.
A man said he was pulled over roughly three minutes after taking a video of a Massachusetts State Police trooper who appeared to be sleeping on the job. (Jenna Fisher/Patch)

MARLBOROUGH, MA — The man who videotaped a state trooper who appeared to be sleeping while on duty told MassLive that he was stopped by another trooper roughly three minutes after taking the video.

Nick Ford of Marlborough, who took a video that was uploaded to YouTube last month, said the trooper told him he was being pulled over for "using an electronic device," MassLive reported.

Ford disputes the claim that he was using electronics, and said he was pulled over while heading west on Intestate 290 before rerouting back east to his original destination, the news outlet said.

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Ford asked the trooper to request a supervisor so he could file two complaints, he told MassLive — one against the officer who appeared to be sleeping, and another against the one who pulled him over.

"I felt it was retaliation," Ford said. "And I wanted it to be documented as much as I could."

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State police declined to comment to MassLive on Ford's accusations, and cited an ongoing internal investigation of his video.

State police spokesman David Procopio said the video, titled "My friend Nick catches Massachusetts State Police Trooper sleeping on the job," shows "conduct that is clearly unsatisfactory," Boston.com reported.

But as of Nov. 30, the trooper remains on active duty, Procopio told MassLive.

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