Acton police supervisor placed on leave for allegedly driving retired police official home instead of charging him with OUI

The Acton Police Department has placed a supervisor on administrative leave after they allegedly drove a retired police official home instead of charging him when he was pulled over for operating under the influence, authorities said.

Shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, an Acton police officer was conducting field training with a new patrol officer and checking a liquor store parking lot on Main Street, Acton police said in a statement. The officers spotted a 2024 Toyota Highlander running in the parking lot and approached it, prompting the owner, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, to exit the vehicle.

The officers noticed that the owner’s breath smelled of alcohol and saw an open can of Twisted Tea sitting in a cup holder, according to the statement. The car’s passenger front side tire was “severely flat,” but no other damage was noted.

The officers called for a supervisor, and when the supervisor responded to the scene, they allegedly transported the man to his Acton home, police said in the statement. The supervisor also allegedly instructed one of the officers to drive the man’s passenger, a 55-year-old Acton woman, to her home.

Acton police commanders decided to file charges against the man the following day and summonsed him to Concord District Court for operating under the influence and possessing an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, according to the statement. A criminal complaint has not yet been issued, so the man has only been identified as a 64-year-old retired police official.

The supervisor who responded to the scene has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation into the matter, police said. Acton Police Chief James A. Cogan said he contacted the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office for guidance and notified Town Manager John Mangiaratti.

“The Acton Police Department is a modern, state-accredited police department, and the laws we swear to apply to our residents apply equally to current and former members of law enforcement agencies,” Cogan said in the statement. “Our public rightly demands that we enforce the law evenly, and we will conduct a full and thorough review of the handling of the situation that unfolded early Saturday morning.”

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