New Jersey trooper in caught-on-camera arrest pleads guilty to DWI, won't serve jail time

NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- An on-duty New Jersey state trooper who was charged with drunk driving after a fender bender pleaded guilty to DWI Tuesday and will not serve any jail time.

Sergeant Michael Roadside was caught on camera professing his sobriety and blaming his slurred speech on a recent prostate procedure after the incident on October 26.

Charges of careless driving and having an open alcohol container in a vehicle were dropped.

Roadside will have to pay fines and turn over his driver's license, and he is also now in Alcoholics Anonymous. The judge said woman he rear-ended in the accident, Kim Wilson, may pursue a civil case against him.

The crash happened at the Monmouth rest area off the Garden State Parkway at approximately 2 p.m. on October 26.

Troopers responded to the minor crash in which a marked patrol car that struck the rear of a white Audi. There were no injuries, but Roadside, a 28-year veteran, was found to be impaired.

"He had a gun and he was drunk," Wilson said. "He was in a lot of trouble and I was scared. I'm still scared."

In the video, Wilson told the responding trooper that Roadside offered to pay her $1,000 not to report the accident. That trooper then questioned Roadside, who blameed his condition on a recent surgical procedure.

"I am not drunk," he told the responding officer. "I had a prostate surgery. I'm on anesthesia right now. I'm trying to get home to Cinnaminson."

A cardboard case of Coors Light and two open containers were later found in his cruiser.

Roadside was suspended from duty without pay.