Police Officer Asleep on the Job?

A photo- purportedly of a Lowell, Massachusetts, police officer sleeping in a marked police cruiser- has people living in that city concerned.

Lowell resident Amanda Lanoue asked, "How is he supposed to be preventing crime from happening if he's taking a nap?"

"He's supposed to watch us, that's his duty and if he's sleeping that's not right," added Babubhai Patel, who is moving to Lowell.

Some see it as a double standard.

"If you have a homeless person sleeping in the back of their car, they're going to get told to move, so why is it okay for a police officer on duty to do that?" Lowell resident Megan O'Neill asked.

The photo was anonymously turned over to the Lowell Sun last week, and then Lowell Police Internal Affairs began investigating.

Lowell Police Superintendent William Taylor released a statement saying in part:

"While extremely embarrassing, this is not representative of the hardworking and dedicated men and women of the Lowell Police Department.This behavior will not be tolerated, the citizens of Lowell and my brother and sister officers deserve better."

"It doesn't surprise me that a police officer would do that because police officers are still people, they make mistakes just as well as the rest of us," suggested Lowell resident Dashan Runnion-Bareford.

But others were less understanding, saying they don't believe the officer accidentally dozed off.

"I think he was planning on it, if he has pillows, yeah he was prepared," said Lowell resident Jessica Woodsum.

"It looks like he's living in his car, that's not good," said Lowell resident Taylor Fielding.

The unnamed officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

"Reprimanded definitely, if he gets caught again, lose his job," Lowell resident Karen Morgan said.

It’s unclear if the officer is on paid or unpaid leave. It's also unclear how long the investigation is expected to take.