Connecticut state trooper’s profanity-laced rant at driver caught on video

A Connecticut state trooper was taken off the road after a video emerged of him unleashing an expletive-laden rant on a driver — telling the motorist “don’t ever f–k with me again.”

The state police commander, Col. Stavros Mellekas, said the trooper was moved to paid administrative duty, with no contact with the public, pending an internal affairs investigation.

“We hold our Troopers to high standards and the behavior displayed in the video is not reflective of the values of Commissioner (James) Rovella or my administration,” Mellekas said in a statement.

Mellekas did not name the trooper but the video posted to YouTube shows his name tag identifies him as Matthew Spina.

In the video description, the driver, Kevin Jette, claimed that Spina was “driving erratically” on the Interstate 95 Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in New Haven on Monday, and Jette “flipped him off” — unaware he was a trooper.

Footage shows Jette say to Spina when the trooper approaches the passenger-side window, “Can I just ask you why you’re riding their butt like that and speeding, man?”

After a few exchanges, the trooper retorts back saying, “Who the f–k do you think you are worrying about what I’m doing?”

Spina then searches the car, telling the driver, “God help you if there’s anything illegal in this car.”

The trooper then informs Jette he was “going to issue a simple citation, but you just couldn’t [expletive] shut your mouth.”

With Jette handcuffed outside the vehicle, Spina grabs a small back container, hurls it to the ground and appears to stomp on it.

The five-minute incident then escalates to Spina ranting about his job in the force, saying he can’t wait to retire.

“Unbelievable. It just never f–king ends in this f–king job,” Spina can be heard saying. “I’ve got 14 months. I can’t f–king wait to be done.”

His last words to the motorist are, “Don’t you ever “f–k” with me again!”

Spina didn’t respond to request for comment to the Associated Press.

Mellekas on Tuesday noted that the coronavirus pandemic had caused stress for troopers.

“For our troopers, they are dealing with the impact on their personal lives along with workplace stressors of being on the frontline,” Mellekas said. “While not an excuse, we are sensitive to this and also referred the trooper to our employee assistance program.”

With Post wires