Groveland officer fired for sleeping on the job

GROVELAND, Mass. -- A small town police officer assigned to serve and protect has been accused of sleeping on the job, looking at inappropriate images online and lying about it to his superiors.

The officer had been on the force for three and a half years when his supervisors became suspicious. His low mileage on his overnight patrol shift didn't add up, but time spent surfing the net, did.

Women wearing next to nothing were discovered on a Groveland Police station computer. Officials said Officer Aaron Yeo would surf for hours during his shift.

"I got information that this officer was not doing his job and we started looking at him and wondering why he wasn’t doing his job," said Chief Robert Kirmelewicz from the Groveland Police Department.

Internal Affairs wired his car with GPS and video. They said they caught him sleeping on the job and calling into dispatch with false locations, sometimes from inside the police station itself.

"There was a pattern of deception and lying and that's why he was terminated," said Kirmelewicz.

But the 28-year-old father of two said he was fired without just cause.

"Unfortunately I feel my rights were violated," said Aaron Yeo.

That's because he didn't know his car was rigged and his stalking like internet behavior was being monitored by internal affairs. His lawyer said lots of people used the computer and suggested Yeo's dispatch locations were kept secret because he was watching for terrorists.

"He was concerned and fairly so that if somebody was using a scanner they'd listen to find out where he was," said Stephen Pfaff, union attorney.

But even the Labor Relations Board said Yeo’s firing was justified. Michael Boyle, an arbitrator with the Division of Labor Relations said: "Officer dishonesty would erode the public's confidence and hamper the ability to ensure public safety."

Yeo's former boss said Yeo won't be doing that in Groveland anymore now that he's off the force.

"A lying police officer loses all credibility and integrity and therefore cannot effectively perform the job of a police officer," said Kirmelewicz.

Yeo and has lawyer said they'll decide within the next two weeks whether they'll appeal.

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