The assault trial for a Framingham, Mass., police sergeant who allegedly threatened a self-storage manager is underway in Lowell.

The incident occurred April 29, 2010, when two police officers driving an unmarked SUV stopped at an EZ Storage facility to urinate outdoors. The wife of the self-storage manager noticed the two men acting suspiciously on the grounds and approached them. The officers noticed the woman and proceeded to leave before the self-storage manager, driving a golf cart, impeded them while they were stil on facility property. The manager, who testified in court March 14, alleges the sergeant stopped, got out of the SUV, and pointed a gun through his jacket at the manager, saying, "Move or get shot."

Portions of the incident were taped by facility video cameras, but the footage does not show a gun. Attorneys for the defendant are saying that's because the sergeant was not holding a gun. The formal charges are for assault with a deadly weapon and thereatening to commit a crime.

EZ Storage operates three self-storage facilities in suburban Boston, including the one in Framingham.

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