Exclusive: State Trooper Investigated For Driving Wrong Way In Cambridge
BOSTON (CBS) - Massachusetts State Police are investigating one of their own, after a newly-minted trooper finds himself in some potentially career-ending trouble.
State Police confirm for WBZ-TV that their internal investigators are looking into events on Memorial Drive in Cambridge on April 3.
Police say Trooper Adam Paicos, who was just sworn into the State Police this March, was driving the wrong way on Memorial Drive when two of his fellow officers spotted him across several lanes of traffic. After the on-duty troopers turned around to follow the 29-year-old Paicos, he pulled into a parking lot and got out of his vehicle.
Paicos identified himself to the troopers as a member of the State Police, and for reasons now being investigated, he was not placed under arrest. Also under investigation is whether or not Paicos was driving drunk. State Police will not say whether or not the other troopers administered a field sobriety test or Breathalyzer test on Paicos.
News of Paicos' arrest brought up questions about his past. A top state law enforcement official confirmed for WBZ-TV that before he became a trooper, Paicos was working at another police department when an accusation of statutory rape surfaced in which Paicos was allegedly involved.
"State Police investigated this accusation during a detailed background check prior to hiring Trooper Paicos. That background check determined that a teenage girl reported to Abington Police that she had been raped by an unknown assailant. A day later, the girl admitted that she was not raped. Trooper Paicos, who knew the girl, was never accused of rape, and the local police department's investigation determined that no rape — either by force or statutorily – occurred," the statement said. "The State Police conduct intensive background checks of all potential hires, and Trooper Paicos was no exception."
