A Massachusetts cop who was allowed to quietly resign after a woman accused him of masturbating in public while ogling her is now working for the state.
No charges were ever filed against Newburyport Police Sergeant Stephen Chaisson, who claimed he never masturbated, but was only playing with himself after having a big breakfast, which can only be described as cop logic.
The cover-up was made public Friday by local news station WCVB, who did an excellent job of exposing the truth after a months-long public records battle.
As a result of the news report, Chaisson is now on leave from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where he was listed as the Director of Compliance and Investigations overseeing the state’s medical marijuana program where his salary is listed as [**$59,060-a-year**](http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/03/massachusetts_state_employee_salary_database_2015.html?appSession=72717425520211095964080297600772679253047070805226840689314075800932826418408628222409208576086562886628034783228524461000073637).
It’s an ironic position considering that in 2009, he was quoted by the [**Newburyport News**](http://www.newburyportnews.com/news/local_news/more-marijuana-fines-possible/article_b517f848-86e8-5645-8db8-301bb524dd08.html) as saying that “marijuana is a gateway drug no matter what people say.”
But that was his previous career, which came to an end when he decided to play with his penis while sitting in his truck as he ogled a woman at an ATM – only for her to spot his truck in the parking lot of the police department where she had gone to report the incident.
According to [**WCVB**](http://www.wcvb.com/news/secret-discipline-in-cops-sexual-misconduct-case-no-barrier-to-state-job/37972324):
> Chaisson’s troubles started in September 2013 when a woman told police that she spotted a man masturbating in his truck parked on Newburyport’s Water Street.
> The woman told police that the man saw her looking at him and continued masturbating for a short time. She only got a partial license plate as he drove away, according to a police report.
> Days after the incident, the witness returned to the police station, surprised to see that same truck outside
> Her comments are recorded in a police report: “She asked did you get him?”
> Soon after, Chaisson changed his license plate.
> In a videotaped interview with police — part of the records the city unsuccessfully fought from being released — he denied it was him.
> “I wasn’t there that day,” he said.
> “So you didn’t commit any sexual acts on Water Street?” he is asked by a police investigator.
> “Absolutely not,” he replied.
The more than 100 pages of documents obtained by WCVB show that the evidence was mounting against Chaisson and that police were going to charge him unless he agreed to a polygraph test, which he did.
But he then changed his mind about the polygraph test. He eventually agreed to take the test, but only if he was granted immunity from prosecution.
He ended up failing the test.
That is when he finally admitted that he was at the location where the woman had spotted him, but said he only pulled out his penis to play with it as part of the digestion process after having a big breakfast.
He said his actions had nothing to do with the woman, who is described in police reports as being “very credible.”
“It’s embarrassing, but I had my belt undone,” he said in a recorded interview with investigators. “The only way I can really put it is I was playing with myself … I’ve undone my pants before, just usually on long drives, but I had a big breakfast.”
It is not stated what he had for breakfast that morning that drove him to pull out his penis and play with it in public.
Chaisson is one of [**several cops who lost their jobs**](http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/09/08/boston-police-detective-arrested-for-masturbating-in-public/) after masturbating in public in recent years.
But unlike Chaisson, other cops ended up arrested, including:
– Boston Police Detective Seth Richard, who was charged with open and gross lewdness [**in September**](http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/09/08/boston-police-detective-arrested-for-masturbating-in-public/).
– Los Angeles police officer Ryan Eric Galliher, who was sentenced to a year in jail [**last month**](http://ktla.com/2016/01/29/lapd-officers-gets-year-in-jail-must-register-as-sex-offender-for-exposing-himself/).
– San Jose Police Sergeant James Rainey Mason, who was arrested for indecent exposure and engaging in a lewd act [**in September**](http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/09/17/california-cop-arrested-for-masturbating-in-public-while-following-woman/).
– Camden County (New Jersey) Police Lieutenant Benito Gonzalez, Jr, who [**pleaded guilty**](http://www.phillyvoice.com/officer-masturbating-starbucks-admits-lewdness/) to masturbating in a Starbucks in 2014, paying a total of $360 in fines and court costs.
We encourage readers to click on the [**WCVB story to view the video**](http://www.wcvb.com/news/secret-discipline-in-cops-sexual-misconduct-case-no-barrier-to-state-job/37972324), which is not embeddable.
