FRAMINGHAM – A substitute bus driver and former Framingham Police officer was charged with open and gross lewdness after police say he urinated off the steps of a school bus in front of Hemenway Elementary School on Thursday afternoon.

James Finks, 66, of 30 Lanewood Ave., pleaded not guilty in Framingham District Court on Friday to the lewdness charge. According to court documents, at least four children and a teacher saw him urinating outside the school at 729 Water St.

Police arrested Finks on Friday at 9:45 a.m. after a traffic stop. In an interview with police, Finks admitted to urinating from the bus, saying he has a medical problem that causes a frequent and urgent need to urinate. Police found a doctor’s note upholding his medical claim when they arrested him, court documents say.

School officials reported the incident to police on Thursday according to the police report, saying Finks had parked the bus in front of Hemenway after picking up six students from Dunning Elementary. Around 3:25 p.m., Finks urinated off the bottom step of the bus, which was 15 to 20 feet away from an occupied classroom, the report says.

A third-grade teacher noticed Finks after one of the four students in her classroom asked “What is my bus driver doing outside the bus?” The teacher told police, according to documents, that she could see Finks’ penis. She told police another students said, “I just saw my bus driver doing a really bad thing.” When the teacher asked the students if they had seen something unusual, each of them said yes, documents say.

According to the report, none of the students on the bus at the time saw Finks urinating. The Hemenway school principal took the students off the bus after the teacher reported the incident, court documents show.

Finks told police he had a strong urge to urinate after parking the bus but did not want to leave the students alone. Documents indicate Finks told police he thought the classrooms in front of the bus were empty, because the lights were off and the chairs were on the desks.

Finks was a police officer in Framingham between 1974 and 2008, according to a town report. Court records show Finks is a substitute bus driver for the school district.

Finks pleaded not guilty and was released without bail. He is due back in court on April 26.

Brittney McNamara can be reached at 508-490-7463 or by email at bmcnamara@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @bmcnamara_MW.