East Bridgewater police sergeant arrested for OUI, placed on administrative leave, police say
An East Bridgewater police sergeant who is facing drunken driving and other charges has been placed on administrative leave, police said.
Sgt. Thomas Flint, 50, of Bridgewater, was placed on leave on Saturday following his arrest in Raynham, police said.
Flint is charged with driving under the influence of liquor, negligent driving, speeding and marked lanes violation, Raynham Police Chief David LaPlante said in a statement.
At approximately 11:20 p.m. Saturday, a Raynham Police officer was patrolling traffic at the intersection of Orchard, North Main, South Main and Pleasant streets, police said.
Patrolman Brian Silva wrote in his report that he saw a black Mercedes SUV being driven erratically and that he began to follow the driver.
The Mercedes “crossed over the yellow line several times as we went down Pleasant Street,” Silva wrote. “It appeared the vehicle was positioning in an attempt to overtake two slower vehicles in front of it.”
The Mercedes then entered a school zone, crossed over the double yellow line and accelerated rapidly, and “passed both vehicles that were in front of him and accelerated to approximately 70 miles per hour in a posted 20 miles per hour zone,” Silva wrote.
Silva activated his police lights to pull the Mercedes over. When he approached the SUV, Silva wrote that he “noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from the vehicle.”
The driver, later identified as Flint, “had bloodshot and glossy eyes, his face was flushed and he appeared to have droopy/hanging eyelids,” the report states.
Silva wrote that he asked Flint a question and “he seemed to have trouble answering, tripping over his words.” Flint told responding officers that “he was unwilling to perform any SFSTs.” Flint was placed under arrest and his vehicle was towed.
At the Raynham Police station, Flint “refused to submit to a chemical breath test and his license was seized,” the report states. He was released on personal recognizance.
Attempts to reach Flint for comment on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
In his statement, LaPlante, the Raynham police chief, said, “Through an on-scene investigation, it was determined that the driver, identified as FLINT, was allegedly intoxicated.”
Earlier Tuesday, East Bridgewater Police Chief Michael Jenkins said in a statement that Flint was placed on leave “following an off-duty incident that led to his arrest in another community.”
Flint will remain on leave pending the results of an internal investigation and court proceedings, Jenkins said.
“As this is a personnel matter, no further information will be released at this time,” Jenkins said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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