Gov. Mike Easley picked Walter J. Wilson Jr., a Tarboro native and 28-year Highway Patrol veteran to lead the organization.

Wilson, pictured at right, will replace Fletcher Clay as the patrol's colonel. Clay is retiring June 30. Easley also promoted Jamie J. Hatcher to lieutenant colonel. Hatcher replaces Cecil Lockley who retired earlier this month.

"These men have demonstrated exceptional leadership throughout their careers in the patrol," Easley said in a news release.

The Highway Patrol, created in 1929, employs 1,823 troopers who cover more than 78,000 miles of state roadways. The patrol has been damaged by a series of revelations involving troopers actions. The allegations have included affairs, drunken driving and rough treatment of police dogs.

Wilson began his career in the Highway Patrol in 1980 Wake County, according to the news release. He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Campbell University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute in Louisville and the FBI National Academy in Quantico.

Hatcher, a Duplin County native, joined the Patrol in 1982 and was first assigned to Bertie County. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the Administrative Officers’ Management Program at N.C. State University.

Easley has only the rest of the year in his tenure, and his successor could decide to appoint someone else to lead the patrol.

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.

More after the jump.

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State Highway Patrol Commander Fletcher Clay is retiring July 1, after nearly four years on the job, the patrol said today in a news release.

"I want you all to know how much I truly appreciate your hard work and dedication to highway safety," Clay said in a message to the patrol today, reports Dan Kane. "I know all the success and recognition we received during my tenure is directly attributed to each of you. It is my distinct honor to have served as your patrol commander and I appreciate the support you have provided me during the past four years."

Clay leaves as the patrol is undergoing an extensive outside review of its operations in the wake of several scandals involving trooper misconduct.

The cases range from a canine sergeant accused of abusing his police dog to a trooper who is facing criminal charges after three Hispanic women said he abducted them in his patrol car in Orange County and attempted to make sexual advances on them before releasing them.

The patrol was also battered by a sex scandal involving troopers having extramarital affairs while on duty, though many of those cases happened before Clay became commander.

The review is supposed to be completed in about a month.

The news release made no mention of the trooper troubles playing a role in Clay's retirement.

Clay joined the patrol 1979 and served his entire career in Wake County. The patrol has 1,800 troopers working the state's roads.

The state Highway Patrol has hired a firm that has reviewed police departments from Los Angeles to Delaware to evaluate the patrol's hiring, training and promotion of troopers.

Kroll consultants will be paid $98,000 to conduct a "formal, in-depth" review, according to a news release from the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, Dan Kane reports. The department oversees the 1,800 member force.

Gov. Mike Easley called for a review after several cases of trooper misbehavior over a two-month period.

One of those cases exposed roughly two dozen instances where troopers were involved in affairs either on or off-duty over the past nine years, and has raised questions of disparate treatment.

"We welcome a thorough internal review by an agency that is experienced and respected in the law enforcement and corporate communities," said patrol Commander Col. Fletcher Clay.

New York-based Kroll has assigned a six-person team of law enforcement and government efficiency experts to conduct a four-month review of the force.

The team will meet with patrol leaders, sworn officers and civilian staff, as well as review hiring and turnover, media coverage, allegations of negligent supervision, ethics and supervisory training.

The state Highway Patrol is trying to figure out whether troopers padded their hours, Dan Kane reports.

The patrol gets $1.6 million from the federal government to pay troopers to patrol work zones. Troopers were falling behind on logging time for these patrols, which could have jeopardized the funding.

So in an e-mail message, Maj. Gregory Hayes told his charges to count any time they drive through a work zone, even on their way home. After Kane pointed out the message, Patrol Commander Fletcher Clay issued a clarification.

"Troopers should only document actual time spent patrolling," Clay wrote. (N&O)

The off-color jokes are gone from the N.C. Highway Patrol Retirees Association's Web site.

Highway Patrol Commander Fletcher Clay contacted the association Tuesday afternoon, after hearing about the jokes from the News & Observer, Dan Kane reports.

Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin, said Clay told them they can't have pictures of the patrol's badge, patch and patrol car along with jokes that refer to breast size and the sexual prowess of certain ethnic males.

The association, which is not affiliated with the patrol, opted to keep the patrol paraphernalia.

Gov. Mike Easley ordered a review of the state Highway Patrol Tuesday.

After reports of misconduct by troopers, the governor ordered Patrol Commander Fletcher Clay and Bryan Beatty, the secretary of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, to look into procedures for hiring, screening and supervising troopers.

A spokesman said it may be the most extensive review in the patrol's history.

In recent weeks, three troopers have been fired after accusations of harassing women and abusing a police dog. In another case, a judge ordered a trooper reinstated, finding that others had engaged in worse conduct and been allowed to stay.

Even the patrol's internal affairs unit has been hit with revelations about a case in which a subordinate investigated a minor wreck of his boss. (N&O)