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Massachusetts cop on leave after threatening motorist

An officer in Medford, MA, is on administrative leave after video of him threatening the life of a driver during a traffic stop went viral this week. Medford Police Detective Stephen Lebert, a 30-year veteran of the Medford police force, wasn't in uniform or in a cruiser when he pulled over a man who would only give his name to Boston.com as Mike.

Mike became confused while traveling through an unfamiliar part of town. He accidentally went the wrong way on a poorly marked traffic circle. When he realized his mistake he stopped in the traffic circle, realized it was too late, and drove down a road in an attempt to get out of the sticky situation.

Officer Lebert witnessed the mistake and, Mike claims, proceeded to tailgate him, flash his brights, and yell threats at him from a red Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. The officer eventually blocked Mike, who had tried to flee before seeing Lebert holding his badge up.

he resulting exchange was captured on Mike's dashboard camera. "I'll put a hole right through your f---ing head," Lebert is heard saying.

"He jumped out of his truck, and he yells that he's gonna blow my brains out. And so I got scared and I threw it into reverse," Mike can be heard in the video telling another Medford officer who arrived on the scene. "Where I'm from — I grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts — it's a rough area. When someone says they got a gun, they usually got a gun. So I'm like, 'Oh, my god. I've gotta get the hell outta here.'"

Medford Police Chief Leo Sacco called Lebert an effective officer, but admitted to Boston.com that the video was "troubling, to say the least."

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