Julia Sarcinelli
Associate Editor
A Framingham State University police officer was almost struck by a truck while working detail at Blandin Avenue and Beaver Street on Saturday, Nov. 12.
The officer did not suffer any injuries and he arrested the driver, 27-year-old Brandon Cotter of Framingham, with aid from Framingham Police.
Cotter was arraigned without bail on Monday in Framingham District Courts and charged with resisting arrest, operating under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop for a police officer.
According to a report filed by the Framingham Police, the FSUPD officer attempted to guide the truck towards the detour, but the truck continued to speed towards him and he had to move out of the way or he would have been hit.
The officer ran after the truck until it stopped. He opened the driver’s door and smelled alcohol. Cotter attempted to put the truck in reverse and “grabbed onto the steering wheel firmly and planting his feet down,” according to the report.
The officers observed that Cotter smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech, glassy eyes and a wobbly stance before the officer pulled him out of the vehicle. Cotter said repeatedly, “I’m not drunk.” Once he was placed under arrest and the breathalyzer test he opted to take resulted in a 0.21 BAC, over the state legal limit of 0.08.
FSUPD Sgt. Robert Barrette said Cotter “was a pretty intoxicated driver that went by the detail officer and almost struck him.”
He added if anyone is out drinking, it’s best to have a designated driver. “It’s very hard to operate a vehicle if you’re impaired – it’s extremely dangerous. ... [Cotter] was extremely intoxicated and it could have been a disaster. There were construction guys there, and there were the officers there, and he was just intoxicated and didn’t stop at all.”
Cotter will return to court for a pretrial conference on Dec. 16.