SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- A Massachusetts State Police sergeant is set to be arraigned Friday on assault charges stemming from a traffic stop in Springfield.

Sgt. Joel Daoust is charged with assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for the alleged use of OC spray, according to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.

The incident took place just after 11 a.m. on January 3. Court documents allege Daoust pulled over an SUV for marked lane violations on East Columbus Avenue in Springfield. The driver was a woman from Salem.

Daoust told the driver he reportedly saw her speeding and drifting between lanes. Documents indicated Daoust believed she was trying to cover a small coin purse and that he saw possible drug paraphernalia while she was looking for her registration. He ordered her out of the SUV and searched her.

The confrontation ended with an arm-bar takedown to the ground, followed by one short burst of pepper spray to the woman’s face.

Daoust, who graduated from the State Police Academy in 2014, later wrote that what he thought was drugs or paraphernalia turned out to be a piece of makeup.

In response to the January incident, Mass. State Police suspended Daoust without pay and the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission suspended his certification.

The DA’s office says the investigation remains active. Daoust is expected to be arraigned this morning in Springfield District Court.

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