No jail time for drunk NJ state trooper

A veteran New Jersey State Trooper has been fined $386 and must serve 12 hours at a resource center for intoxicated drivers as punishment for a drunken driving accident in Monmouth County last October. 

Sgt. First Class 51-year-old Michael Roadside of Cinnaminson Township Tuesday pleaded guilty to a drunk-driving charge in Wall Township Municipal Court in connection with the Oct. 26 on-duty crash, according to NJ Advance Media.

The 29-year veteran trooper admitted to drinking about 9 beers while working a construction detail and rear-ending another motorist. The driver claimed Roadside offered her $1,000 if she agreed to not report the accident.

Roadside blamed his behavior on a medical setback related to prostate cancer surgery he had recently undergone and initially claimed he was on anesthesia and not drunk.

The judge opted not to give Roadside jail time, taking into account his relatively clean driving record and noting that he was experiencing a "medical crisis" prior to the incident, according to NJ Advance Media.

Roadside had his license suspended for seven months.