Authorities in Reading are investigating a picture that appears to show an officer reading from his phone while he is behind the wheel of a police car.
The photo, taken by a passenger in a vehicle traveling alongside the squad car at about 25 mph, showed an unidentified officer allegedly looking down at a cellphone in his left hand while driving, CBS Boston reported. RELATED:Boston-area police crack down on texting and driving “I was right beside him taking the picture, and I said, ‘I’m taking a picture of you while driving,’” the woman who took the photo said to Fox25, which blurred the officer’s face in the picture.
The Reading police chief told CBS Boston that he would figure out what was going on when the photo was taken.
“We are not looking to rush to judgment – at this early stage we do not know if the vehicle was being driven or was parked along the side of the road – but if the investigation shows that the officer was driving while using a mobile device, we will address that violation appropriately,” Reading Police Chief Mark Segalla was quoted by CBS Boston.
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In Massachusetts, texting while driving was made illegal in 2010,WCVBreported, adding that distracted driving still accounts for more than 25 percent of highway fatalities.
