Hartford (AP) — A Connecticut state trooper accused of possibly compromising a drug investigation by tipping off his girlfriend about it was allowed to resign in “good standing” before a disciplinary proceeding, documents show. 

Trooper J. Severin Bergeron, who quit in November 2013, was facing the possibility of being fired after an internal affairs investigator concluded he broke several rules and deceived his superiors, according to records obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request. 

Bergeron, 43, declined to comment to the AP. He left state police after less than four years, having worked at Troop F in Westbrook and Troop E in Montville, and is now an investment consultant in Rhode Island. 

According to the internal affairs report, Bergeron’s girlfriend, who was not identified, told him that her employers at a Jewett City store offered her a job selling “K2” synthetic marijuana. Bergeron admitted to his superiors that he told the woman not to take the job because state police were looking into potential drug selling at the store, the report said. 

Authorities did arrest the store owners and seized a large amount of synthetic marijuana in February 2013. But state police believed Bergeron’s disclosure of the investigation hampered the probe because other potential suspects were alerted, documents show. 

The appearance of an improper relationship between Bergeron and the woman was reported to state police brass by a sergeant who filed a complaint in September 2012. 

The sergeant forwarded a photo posted on Facebook that showed the woman sitting in a police cruiser wearing a state police hat, according to the internal affairs report. Bergeron told superiors he left the woman alone in his cruiser while he went inside a store to get some drinks, and he didn’t give her permission to wear his hat, the report said. 

State police say the woman was an unauthorized passenger in Bergeron’s cruiser about 20 times. 

The sergeant said that in another instance Bergeron wasn’t answering his police radio and was found at the woman’s home. 

The internal affairs report said Bergeron misused state police databases numerous times to check if there were any warrants for the woman and deceived his superiors when asked about it. 

State police said there were other investigations of Bergeron but declined to elaborate. The AP requested those reports but they weren’t immediately released. 

Officials at the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which oversees state police, say any state employee is allowed to resign in good standing if they submit two weeks’ notice. The state Department of Administrative Services was checking Wednesday if that interpretation was correct, on a request by the AP. 

Retired Col. Danny Stebbins, who was commander of the state police when Bergeron resigned, said the good standing status was akin to being considered innocent until proven guilty. 

“It doesn’t mean he resigned in good standing in my mind,” said Stebbins, who noted other troopers have been allowed to resign in good standing before disciplinary hearings. 

The status didn’t affect Bergeron’s ability to collect a pension or other benefits because he didn’t work for the state long enough to qualify. 

The misconduct allegations against Bergeron came to light in December in a federal lawsuit that alleges a state prosecutor told a judge and defense lawyer that Bergeron was known for falsifying evidence reports. The suit was filed by a North Stonington man who claims Bergeron illegally seized 90 properly registered guns from his home in 2011 after a domestic dispute. 

The prosecutor in question declined to comment and the chief prosecutor for the region, New London State’s Attorney Michael Regan, said he is unaware of any allegations that Bergeron falsified reports. 

Regan determined that criminal charges against Bergeron were not warranted in the case involving his girlfriend.