The Massachusetts State Senate has stripped Sen. Michael Brady of his chairmanship, after the Senate Ethics Committee determined the Brockton Democrat violated Senate rules during a 2018 stop for driving under the influence.

The committee found that Brady presented the arresting officer his Senate identification card before producing his drivers license and registration, violating a Senate rule that prohibits a member from using or attempting to use “improper means to influence an agency, board, authority, commission of the Commonwealth, any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or any other entity.” The rule also provides that “[e]very reasonable effort shall be made to avoid situations where it might appear that the member ... is making such use of the member[’s] official position.”

Brady was arrested by Weymouth Police on March 24, 2018, and charged with operating under the influence of liquor. Earlier this year, Brady admitted to sufficient facts to support a conviction for the OUI offense. During the Ethics Committee investigation, Brady said he was nervous and fumbled for his registration in his glove box, and then said, "because his State House identification card was easier to reach in his jacket pocket, he presented it first."

Brady has been a state senator since winning a special election in 2015. Before that, he was a state representative and a member of the Brockton City Council.