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Commander: State Police Captain Appeared Intoxicated After Chase Arrest

SAUGUS (CBS) - A veteran State Police Captain is suspended without pay and facing charges after leading police on a pursuit over the weekend.

State Police investigators say he may have been intoxicated.

Officials say Saugus police officers responding to house alarm first saw 47-year-old Captain Thomas McCarthy, who was off-duty, sitting in his unmarked cruiser outside the home.

WBZ-TV's Paul Burton reports

McCarthy drove off, but a few minutes later, an officer spotted him committing a marked lane violation.

That officer pulled over McCarthy and asked him to step out of the car.

McCarthy allegedly refused, and instead drove away.

Three marked police cars chased McCarthy, until he ultimately pulled over in a parking lot at the Square One Mall.

McCarthy was arrested for failure to stop for police and failure to stay right of the center line.

State Police officers were called in to take possession of McCarthy's cruiser, along with his gun, which was in the cruiser.

A State Police Commander, who spoke to McCarthy at the Saugus police station reported observing "signs of intoxication."

"The allegations, if proven to be true, are serious breach of the conduct and behavior expected of a Massachusetts State trooper and do not represent the ideals and values of the vast majority of department members," State Police spokesperson Dave Procopio said in a statement.

The State Police decided to indefinitely suspend McCarthy without pay at a hearing on Tuesday. They have also launched an internal investigation.

Whether McCarthy was intoxicated, along with his use of a cruiser while off-duty, are among the questions investigators are hoping to answer.

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