Boston Area News

BOSTON (WBZ) ― The men and women who monitor the state's roadways, issuing hundreds of thousands of tickets to motorists annually, have caused nearly 500 crashes in their own cruisers in the past seven years, internal state police data show.

And despite their advanced roadway training, scores of troopers are repeat crashers demonstrating the same poor driving habits they are citing the ordinary motorist for - like inattention, speeding and following cars too closely, an I-Team analysis of over 2600 cruiser accidents shows.

Nearly 120 troopers have had four or more crashes in the past seven years, the data indicates.

"It's certainly a problem we need to address," said State Police Col. Mark F. Delaney of the I-Team's findings.

Delaney did not defend the number of crashes, but pointed out that state police log 54 million miles a year in hazardous weather and driving conditions.

But the agency's own data indicates the overwhelming majority of crashes occur on dry roadways with clear skies and while state police are either commuting from home, working a detail or on a regular police patrol. In only 16 percent of the accidents was a trooper in pursuit of a suspect or responding to an emergency, the data indicates.

State Police brass have cleared their troopers in 55 percent of the total crashes and found them partially at fault only about seven percent of the time. They have been found to have caused the crash about 19 percent of the time, crash records show.

Among the top crashers, Trooper Michelle L. Sutherland, 38, who has been found at fault in four of the five accidents she has had since 2001. Sutherland joined the force in 1993.

Other troopers have had repeat accidents inn which they were the only motorist involved - such as Matthew E. Croteau. Croteau, 34, has had five crashes in four years - including four single-vehicle crashes in which he lost control of his own cruiser. He has been found at fault four times - twice on a regular patrol, once while commuting and once off duty.

In the one instance where Croteau crashed while responding to a call, his parked cruiser careened down a steep hill during a motor vehicle stop in Southbridge, internal state police records show.

"They are given vehicles that they are allowed to under some circumstances exceed the speed limit, operate them in an emergency fashion. The assumption I think the citizens have is that they are qualified to do so," said policing expert Dennis J. Kenney, a former officer and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "If they are having problems with accidents, that would suggest they may not be qualified to do so, which puts all of us at risk."

Of the 2500 members of the force, the most accident-prone is Trooper William A. Cameron, 38, who has has eight crashes since January, 2002. He has been found at fault twice.

"I don't think he should be driving and giving tickets if that's the situation," said Gabriela Herrera, 39, a Jamaica Plain mother whose car - with her two-year-old in the back seat - was rear-ended by Cameron in April, 2003 while Herrera was driving near her home.

It was Cameron's fourth accident in just over a year.

"It's scary," Herrera said.

Herrera stopped to let another motorist cross an intersection when she was struck by Cameron's 1997 marked Crown Victoria.

"I was being extra careful because I knew he was behind me," Herrera said. ". . . I was driving very slowly. I looked in the mirror before stopping just to make sure he had enough distance to stop. Then I let this person pass through and he hit me."

"I was shocked. (Hit) by a state policeman," she said.

Herrera said Cameron rushed over to her to see if she and her daughter were alright.

". . . He had this face that he was so ashamed."

Cameron was found at fault in the accident - even though his boss, Sgt. David E. Ford initially stated there was "insufficient information" to determine the cause, an internal state police report on the accident indicates.

Herrera said one of Cameron's superiors called her at home after the accident ordering her to bring her car to the Charles River Basin barracks. After inspecting her car, he tried to convince her the damage was already there, she said.

"He was looking at me to . . . try to get some sign that I was lying," Herrera said.

Herrera also disputed the internal report Cameron filed stating she came to a "sudden stop."

"I wouldn't do it if I had a state police car behind me. Well, I wouldn't do it if I had any car behind me . . . . and if I have my daughter in the back-seat. It just doesn't make any sense," she said.

Troopers are allowed to investigate themselves in accidents in which no one is injured and there is less than $1000 in damages. They frequently clear themselves of any wrongdoing and state police said they reverse that decision about 11 percent of the time. Kenney said it is flawed policy.

"It's not a good idea for a lot of reasons. One it obviously places a great deal of pressure on the individual trooper or officer to shade things in their favor," Kenney said. "It also communicates a bad message to the public in that members of the public are not afforded the same opportunity."

Delaney acknowledged having the trooper investigate him or herself had to change.

"I think inherently you can't investigate yourself . . . . you can't be objective," Delaney said. "I think that might be a glitch in the system."

Even when troopers are cleared of causing the accident, the circumstances can still raise questions.

In April, 2006, as he was making a left turn off of Park Drive in Boston during rush hour, Michael L. Benson of Weston claims he was struck in his left passenger side by motorcycle Trooper Joaquin P. Miranda. Benson was on his way to a dinner with a fellow Northeastern University student.

Miranda, 48, has had seven crashes since August, 2001, the data indicates. He has never been found at fault.

He was cleared of his latest accident in February by Sgt. Dennis M. Bertulli, who was sanctioned by his bosses for plowing into a pedestrian at this year's Boston Marathon.

Miranda claims Benson, now a doctoral engineering student at the University of Michigan, ignored him as he sped up Park Drive with his lights and sirens on.

"The crash occurred when Trooper Miranda attempted to pass Benson's vehicle on the left and Benson attempted to make a left turn failing to yield to the emergency vehicle," the internal preliminary crash report states. "Benson's vehicle struck the right rear of the motorcycle with the front left door, mirror and fender."

Miranda then lost control of his bike and slid into a nearby Subaru Impreza belonging to a local resident.

Witness accounts of whether Miranda had his siren on differ and Benson's passenger, a fellow Northeastern University student, said he also never saw the motorcycle.

"I had started to execute the turn. He was going straight, "Benson said. "He went into oncoming traffic to get around me . . . . the impact was to me."

While the police report indicates he was cited for "impeding an emergency," both Benson and his passenger said he was not cited at the scene and roughly an hour passed following the accident before any of the state police asked if they were hurt.

Benson said he was surprised to get a letter in June, 2006 from the Registry of Motor Vehicles indicating his license would be suspended if he did not pay a ticket for impeding and emergency and late fees.

Benson's, who continues to maintain he did not cause the accident, was unsuccessful in getting his ticket dismissed though his insurance company refunded his deductible for the accident.

Kenney reviewed the accident reports for the I-Team and said the ticket should never have been issued to Benson.

"I would say that generally the person who is doing the passing is at fault," Kenney said. "Odds are if it was a citizen they would be found at fault."

State law governing the operation of emergency vehicles indicates a driver must "willfully obstruct" the vehicle's passage to be guilty of a moving violation. Benson claims he never saw Miranda's motorcycle. Police emergency vehicles can exceed the speed limit and may ignore a traffic signal if they first bring their own vehicle to a full stop and then "proceeds with caution and due regard for the safety of persons and property," the law states.

"Having lights and sirens does not mean that no traffic laws apply," Kenney said. "Lights and sirens simply mean that you can within caution exceed speed limits, go through stop signs. The burden of doing so safely still rests with the emergency driver however. It does not shift the responsibility for safety to everyone else on the road."

"They're the experts. They're the ones we trust to keep the roads safe and orderly," said Benson. "Shouldn't they be leading by example, showing us the right way to drive? If they're not, then I'd say they aren't doing their jobs correctly and probably shouldn't be on the road."

Delaney said he plans on instituting a number of reforms to ensure problem drivers on the force are identified, including regularly reviewing the agency's crash data to better monitor the circumstances and causes of the accidents.

"I want to make sure that our highways are safe and that they are being patrolled by officers who are well-trained and are good drivers," Delaney said. "I do not want any of my troopers hurt and I do not want any members of the public hurt in any way."

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