Off-duty Massachusetts State Police officer charged with OUI in Connecticut

By Zachary T. Sampson, Globe Correspondent

A Massachusetts state trooper was relieved of duty this weekend after he was charged with operating under the influence in Connecticut early Saturday morning, a department spokesman said.

Police in Enfield, Conn., found Daniel Sheehan, 46, “passed out or sleeping” in the driver’s seat of a Cadillac Escalade that was pulled to the side of the road at 12:51 a.m. Saturday, said the spokesman, David Procopio. Sheehan is assigned to the Russell Barracks and graduated from the State Police Academy in 2002, Procopio said in a statement. He was off-duty at the time of the incident.

He said there was no damage to the vehicle, no signs of a crash, and Sheehan was uninjured. Enfield police officers administered field sobriety tests to Sheehan, Procopio said, and they arrested the trooper after determining he was impaired. He is also charged with a marked lanes violation.

Procopio said Sheehan posted $500 cash bail at the Enfield police station. State Police will hold a duty status hearing for Sheehan this week to determine his future assignment, he said.

Sheehan is scheduled to appear for arraignment in a Connecticut courtroom on the charges on July 30, according to Procopio.