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CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The Fox 8 I-Team has learned that a Cleveland Heights police officer, who was caught on camera while snoozing on the job, is now the focus of an internal investigation.

It was a concerned citizen who snapped the photo of the napping patrolman, apparently asleep in his patrol car with a textbook propped up on his steering wheel, while sitting in a parking lot on Wednesday.

When the photo of the drowsy cop was posted on social media and then shared with his superiors at Cleveland Heights Police Headquarters, they were not amused.

Chief Jeff Robertson told the I-Team, "Oh, I was upset. You know we strive to let the citizens know what we're doing out here. We have a lot of hardworking men and women on this police department, and when you see something like this, it puts a stain on us, and it upsets me."

In Cleveland Heights' Coventry neighborhood, some citizens are willing to give the sleepy officer a break, but others wonder why he couldn't find something more important to do.

"Sleeping on the job, reading a book, what is this?" said Larry Samuels. "It's got to be a joke; maybe it's his lunch break."

"I can kind of understand why officers have like long hours," said Kala James. "There's really no violent activity up here that much, but still like you should know that sitting in the car, that's mostly your job. You should be able to handle it."

According to Ryan Russell, "His job is to patrol and make sure things don't happen, and he should be preventing anything from happening and not sleeping on the job."

The I-Team asked the chief if there was any scenario where it would be permitted for a police officer to sleep on duty, if for example, they were on break.

Robertson said, "No, you're not paid to go to sleep; you're paid to be here and patrol the city. And do what you're hired to do, and that's to serve the citizens. No, it's completely unacceptable."

And we asked the chief if there was any circumstance where an officer would be permitted to read a book while on duty.

Robertson responded, "You're not paid to read a book in a car. You're a policeman. You're on patrol. You're out here to serve the citizens. You're not out here to read a book."

The chief would not identify the officer, citing the fact that the investigation is in its early stages.

Robertson said if he concludes the officer broke departmental rules, he could face punishment ranging from a reprimand to dismissal.