By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to a Broadway location last Wednesday on a matter unrelated to the following events.

As the officers arrived on the scene, they observed a vehicle parked at an odd angle, with the front end angled in. The car’s engine was running and the headlights were on. The spot that the vehicle was parked had a sign posted as a police vehicle only spot, as it was in front of the East Somerville Police Substation.

At first glance, they did not see anyone occupying the vehicle. One of the officers approached the vehicle with the intention of citing it for restricted parking, when he directed the other officer’s attention to the fact that it was occupied by a male who appeared to be asleep in the driver’s seat, with his seat reclined back.

An officer approached the operator, who was later identified as Patrick Mathieu, of Medford, the registered owner of the vehicle. When Mathieu rolled down his window to speak to the officers, they detected the strong odor of burnt marijuana. They reportedly observed that Mathieu’s eyes were bloodshot, he appeared to be wide-eyed, his pupils appeared dilated, he seemed disoriented, and was slow to respond to questions.

The officers asked Mathieu when was the last time he smoked marijuana, and he reportedly stated a few hours before. When asked to define what a few hours were, he stated he had smoked four hours earlier.

Additionally, they observed what appeared to be an open, half empty bottle of whiskey stashed in the passenger’s side door, although they did not smell the odor of alcohol.

Mathieu was asked to exit the vehicle to perform some roadside sobriety assessments, and he complied.

After administering a standard series of sobriety tests, the officers came to believe that Mathieu was operating his vehicle impaired under the influence of drugs.

Mathieu was placed under arrest and transported to the Somerville Police Station, where he reportedly consented to a drug evaluation after booking.

At the completion of the evaluation, it was decided that Mathieu was under the influence of central nervous system depressants and cannabis, and was therefore unable to operate a vehicle safely.

Mathieu was subsequently charged with operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs.