A state trooper fired after he admitted to showing a picture of a naked boy with a large penis to a drive thru bank teller got to make his case today.

Ronald G. Ezzell Jr. of Beulaville, a helicopter pilot with the State Highway Patrol, was fired Feb. 19 for an incident in Oct. 2008 when he sent a bank teller the photo while making a transaction.

The case was heard before the Office of Administrative Hearings today, and the court will make a ruling within 75 days.

Ezzell's defense is that he intended the photo as a joke, claiming it was a picture of him at his grandmother's house as a child, and that it should be weighed against 19 years of distinguished service with the highway patrol. His lawyers read off a list of honors Ezzell received, especially his work when the West Pharmaseutical plant exploded in 2006.

"He has admitted that it was one brief moment where he exercised poor judgment," said Woody Webb, the lawyer representing Ezzell.

The department said his conduct was unbecoming of an officer — especially one in uniform in a marked highway patrol car — and that previous warnings of inappropriate conduct justified the firing.

"I can't imagine anyone that thinks the actions of trooper Ezzell were acceptable at all," said Tamara Zmuda, the assistant attorney general who represented the department.

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The N.C. Police Benevolent Association is raising objections to a four-month review of the N.C. Highway Patrol's hiring, training and supervision policies.

John Midgette, the association's executive director, said the review was a "manipulated fraud" because it did not look into pressing issues inside the 1,800-member force, particularly the handling of disciplinary cases, Dan Kane reports.

"It was destined to be a fraud because of the fact that (patrol Commander Fletcher Clay and N.C. Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Bryan Beatty) had defined the scope of the survey and they selected the so-called consultant," Midgette said.

He also said that the consultant, Kroll of New York City, did not base its findings on "traditional methodology" such as interviews under oath or written surveys.

Kroll said in its report that it interviewed troopers throughout the ranks of the force as well as officials with affiliated groups, including the N.C. PBA.

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The state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement has a new director today.

Deputy Director Bill Chandler succeeds Director Mike Robertson, who retired Wednesday after five years in the job. Chandler has been the division's second-in-command for four years. The division regulates the sale of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and lottery tickets, Dan Kane reports.

ALE officials said they planned to make the official announcement this afternoon, but confirmed an internal announcement of the change made by Bryan Beatty, secretary of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, that was obtained by The News & Observer.

In the memo, Beatty said of Chandler: "During his 27-year career with ALE, he has worked in virtually every facet of the statewide law enforcement agency including as a field agent, district supervisor, training coordinator and assistant director."

Beatty said that Chandler has a bachelor's degree in political science and master's and doctorate degrees in public administration, all from N.C. State University.

Robertson has spent 35 years in law enforcement, including stints at the State Highway Patrol and the State Bureau of Investigation where he was an assistant director.