A Massachusetts state police sergeant is facing assault and battery charges following a use-of-force investigation.
The Hampden District Attorney's Office says it's pursuing charges against Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Joel Daoust over a traffic stop he conducted last month.
According to the DA’s Office, it was Jan. 3 when Daoust initiated the stop in Springfield: one involving a driver who had allegedly been speeding and committing marked lane violations.
Over the course of the traffic stop, “force was used against the motorist” by Daoust, the DA’s office said in a statement, including “physical force” and pepper spray.
While details on what led to the use of force or the condition of the driver were not released, a spokesperson for the DA’s office said the incident was later reviewed by a state police detective unit, resulting in Daoust being brought up on both assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charges.
According to state police, the sergeant was relieved of his duties and suspended without pay following the January incident.
A 2014 graduate of the State Police Academy, Daoust was previously disciplined in 2017 over “unsafe cruiser operation” and “disregarding a supervisor’s order,” according to state records.
In a statement to WAMC, Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said:
“The Massachusetts State Police shares the public’s expectation that Troopers exercise sound judgement in the performance of their duties. Their training forms the foundation of that judgement by teaching essential skills to de-escalate, recognize danger, prevent harm, and respect the dignity of those we encounter. When this incident occurred, the mandated review process required by our use of force policy raised serious questions about how better use of those core training principles could have affected the outcome. For this reason, we escalated the incident and ultimately referred it to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office for their review. As in any judicial process, we pledge our full cooperation and refrain from further comment as we await the outcome.”
Daoust is due to be arraigned on April 3.
