SEE IT: Massachusetts cop threatens to shoot driver in head on dashcam video WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
Medford Police Det. Stephen Lebert yelled at the driver after he made a wrong turn in a traffic circle and failed to pull over for the off-duty cop Sunday night.
"I'll put a hole right through your f***ing head," Lebert said. "Pull your car over. I'll put a hole right in your f***ing head."
Lebert, dressed in a white tank top and shorts, jumped out of his unmarked red pickup truck and "aggressively" approached the vehicle after the wrong turn, said the driver, identified as 25-year-old Mike.
As Lebert reached into his pocket, Mike backed away because he said he thought Lebert had a gun and did not realize he was a cop. The driver pulled over when Lebert flashed his badge, and that's when Lebert's tantrum began.
"You're lucky I'm a cop because I'd be beating the f***ing p**s out of you right now,'' Lebert said as Mike tried to explain he didn't realize Lebert was a cop and that he didn't see the traffic sign.
"Then you try to be an a***hole and back up on me!" Lebert said.
Medford, Mass., Police Det. Stephen Lebert has been suspended after threatening to shoot a man in the Boston suburb.
Lebert demanded Mike's license and said he would seize the dashcam to prove the driver went through the rotary the wrong way. He then ordered Mike to turn off his car because he could flee.
"I thought that guy was going to kill me. I was super scared. I'm terrified," Mike told a witness as Lebert ran his license.
Another Medford officer arrived minutes later, and Mike tried to explain why he started backing away.
"He jumped out of his truck, and he yells that he's gonna blow my brains out. And so I got scared and I threw it into reverse. I'm like, 'What the hell is going on?'" Mike said in the video. "Like, I don't know this guy. He's got tattoos, he's got wifebeaters.
"I'm from Lowell, Massachusetts. It's a rough area. When someone says they got a gun, they usually got a gun. So I'm like, "Oh my God, I've gotta get the hell out of here."
Mike was issued a citation for failing to mark his residency in Malden on his car registration, and the other officer said he could contest the ticket in court.
Medford Police Officer Caught On Camera Threatening Driver
CBS Boston
"Don't forget to bring your dashcam, your video, of you going through the rotary the wrong way almost hitting two cars head-on, one of them being me," Lebert said.
The next day, Lebert was placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation, Medford Police Chief Leo Sacco said.
"Based on what I saw, I am troubled," Saco told WBZ-TV.
Lebert, a 30-year police veteran, had to undergo counseling in 2012 after he was filmed telling a drug suspect's brother, "What you should do with your brother is take him up on the railroad tracks and tell him to lay down.”
Lebert and his uncle were sued in 1992 after they allegedly beat up a man who had spit at Lebert's wife, according to WCVB.
Massachusetts police officer was suspended after he threatened to shoot a driver through the head during a traffic stop, dashboard camera footage shows.
Medford Police Det. Stephen Lebert yelled at the driver after he made a wrong turn in a traffic circle and failed to pull over for the off-duty cop Sunday night.
"I'll put a hole right through your f***ing head," Lebert said. "Pull your car over. I'll put a hole right in your f***ing head."
Lebert, dressed in a white tank top and shorts, jumped out of his unmarked red pickup truck and "aggressively" approached the vehicle after the wrong turn, said the driver, identified as 25-year-old Mike.
As Lebert reached into his pocket, Mike backed away because he said he thought Lebert had a gun and did not realize he was a cop. The driver pulled over when Lebert flashed his badge, and that's when Lebert's tantrum began.
"You're lucky I'm a cop because I'd be beating the f***ing p**s out of you right now,'' Lebert said as Mike tried to explain he didn't realize Lebert was a cop and that he didn't see the traffic sign.
"Then you try to be an a***hole and back up on me!" Lebert said.
Medford, Mass., Police Det. Stephen Lebert has been suspended after threatening to shoot a man in the Boston suburb.
Lebert demanded Mike's license and said he would seize the dashcam to prove the driver went through the rotary the wrong way. He then ordered Mike to turn off his car because he could flee.
"I thought that guy was going to kill me. I was super scared. I'm terrified," Mike told a witness as Lebert ran his license.
Another Medford officer arrived minutes later, and Mike tried to explain why he started backing away.
"He jumped out of his truck, and he yells that he's gonna blow my brains out. And so I got scared and I threw it into reverse. I'm like, 'What the hell is going on?'" Mike said in the video. "Like, I don't know this guy. He's got tattoos, he's got wifebeaters.
"I'm from Lowell, Massachusetts. It's a rough area. When someone says they got a gun, they usually got a gun. So I'm like, "Oh my God, I've gotta get the hell out of here."
Mike was issued a citation for failing to mark his residency in Malden on his car registration, and the other officer said he could contest the ticket in court.
Medford Police Officer Caught On Camera Threatening Driver
CBS Boston
"Don't forget to bring your dashcam, your video, of you going through the rotary the wrong way almost hitting two cars head-on, one of them being me," Lebert said.
The next day, Lebert was placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation, Medford Police Chief Leo Sacco said.
"Based on what I saw, I am troubled," Saco told WBZ-TV.
Lebert, a 30-year police veteran, had to undergo counseling in 2012 after he was filmed telling a drug suspect's brother, "What you should do with your brother is take him up on the railroad tracks and tell him to lay down.”
Lebert and his uncle were sued in 1992 after they allegedly beat up a man who had spit at Lebert's wife, according to WCVB.