ORLEANS — On March 6, state police Trooper Steven Culver was called to Route 6 in South Dennis for reports of a car driving erratically. After the trooper stopped the car near the beginning of the two-lane section of Route 6, he reported to two different police officers from two different departments that the driver was intoxicated, according to an Orleans police investigation.
The driver was Travis Tebbetts, an off-duty Orleans police officer. But instead of administering a field sobriety test or arresting Tebbetts and taking him in for a blood-alcohol test, Culver called the Orleans police and reported he was impounding Tebbetts' car and the officer needed a ride home to Brewster, according to the investigation. The probe was conducted by Orleans police Deputy Chief Scott MacDonald.
Orleans Police Chief Jeffrey Roy released the investigation report Wednesday in response to a Times public records request. The report details a possible example of what a Yarmouth police officer calls in the report "professional courtesy" for a fellow police officer. The incident came to light partly because of the outrage of that Yarmouth officer, who followed Tebbetts as he allegedly drove erratically through South Yarmouth and onto Route 6.
When MacDonald interviewed Culver more than a month later on April 15 "to explain the circumstances that led to Tebbetts' detainment, Culver responded that probable cause had not been established to make an arrest," according to the investigation report.
In an interview with the Times on Wednesday, Roy said that during the investigation Culver said he had not established enough cause to perform a field sobriety test. Under state law, an officer can't conduct a Breathalyzer test unless a suspect has been arrested, Roy said.
Tebbetts, a six-year veteran of the Orleans Police Department, was not charged with a crime and is still employed with the department, Roy said. He was disciplined as a result of the investigation, but Roy would not specify what action was taken, citing personnel privacy exemptions to the state public records laws. The Times is appealing that decision.
"He was appropriately disciplined," Roy said Wednesday. "Officers in our department and across the Cape have a lot of integrity. When they make mistakes, they are punished. I have not seen officers get preferential treatment. I have seen them get twice the penalty."
According to an Orleans Police Internal Affairs report, Tebbetts was disciplined under the rule governing conduct unbecoming an officer.
'Admitted to drinking'
Tebbetts was drinking at the Sons of Erin in Yarmouth on the afternoon of March 6, according to statements made by officers involved in the investigation. Orleans police Lt. Sean Diamond was also at the bar and observed Tebbetts drinking a beer. Diamond said Tebbetts appeared "sluggish, almost lethargic" and asked whether he was OK to drive home, according to the investigation report. In his statement to MacDonald for the report, Diamond said Tebbetts replied he was tired.
Off-duty Yarmouth police Officer Gordon Gibbons was driving with his wife on Old Townhouse Road at 6 p.m. that night when he observed Tebbetts' Land Rover swerving from one side of the road to the other. He called the Yarmouth police dispatcher and followed Tebbetts, who, he said, continued to swerve across lanes and eventually hit at least 80 mph on Route 6, Gibbons wrote in a statement that was included as part of the investigation.
Tebbetts' driving was so unpredictable that Gibbons said he feared he would hit another vehicle or go off the road. "In my 16 years with this (Yarmouth police) department, it was the most dangerous display of reckless driving I have ever witnessed," he recounted in his written statement.
Tebbetts got on the highway at Exit 8, then got off at Exit 9A and headed south on Route 134 in Dennis, according to Gibbons. He then drove over a raised median to make a sharp U-turn in traffic and headed back onto Route 6 going east. At that point, Culver, who had been alerted by police dispatchers, stopped Tebbetts.
In his statement, Gibbons said Culver later called him and advised him the driver was an Orleans officer named Travis Tebbetts and he was "extremely intoxicated and admitted to drinking eight beers."
State police in Yarmouth would not honor a request to see their police log for March 6, a violation of state public records law.
In an email message to the Times, state police spokesman David Procopio said there was no indication of misconduct by Culver. "The Department of State Police is in the process of responding to a records request from the Cape Cod Times regarding this allegation. Since this process is ongoing we will reserve comment. At this time the department has no evidence to support this allegation."
According to Orleans police Sgt. Matthew Watts, who was the shift commander on March 6, Culver phoned the Orleans station at about 6 p.m. "Trooper Culver stated that Tebbetts was intoxicated and that the vehicle was going to be towed. Trooper Culver asked me if I could find him a ride," Watts wrote in a March 9 statement that was included in the investigation. Watts called MacDonald, who arranged for Tebbetts to be taken home.
MacDonald said he did not get a chance to interview Tebbetts until March 31.
'We investigated'
The Orleans police couldn't perform field sobriety or other tests on Tebbetts because it was outside their jurisdiction, Roy said.
"We received a call, a complaint about an officer. We investigated and an officer was disciplined. What happened out on the road between Trooper Culver and Tebbetts and Gibbons, I can't tell you," Roy said. "We have to go back to the facts. We don't have any conclusive evidence of whether (Tebbetts) was or wasn't under the influence." He praised Tebbetts as an "excellent officer who goes above and beyond what we require. He's done a lot of work in the schools and plays in a bagpipe band."
Roy said the Orleans police do not handle cases involving police officers any differently than they handle cases involving the general public. "If an officer has been determined to be driving under the influence, we take strict action," he said.
Margie Fulcher, who serves as chairwoman of the Orleans Board of Selectmen, said Wednesday that she was unaware of the incident involving Tebbetts, but that she would be speaking with Roy on behalf of the board. Fulcher said she was supportive of how he has handled disciplinary matters in the past.
Tebbetts is at least the third Orleans police officer to be in hot water in the past nine months.
Orleans police Officer Anthony Manfredi is due back in court on July 1 for a pretrial hearing on charges linked to a Mashpee crash in October while he was allegedly driving drunk. Manfredi and his 21-year-old passenger were seriously injured in the crash. According to hospital records, his blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. Manfredi is on paid leave pending the results of the court case.
Orleans police Sgt. William Norton was fired earlier this spring and the case is being litigated at the state Division of Labor Relations and state Department of Workforce Development. His case is also in grievance arbitration in Boston. The details surrounding Norton's termination are being withheld until his appeal is heard, Roy said. The police chief denied the Times' public records request last week for information about Norton's case.