State Highway Patrol

But they kept their hats on

bniolet — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:52:45 -0500

"Look, we've got guys having sex in patrol cars just about every day."

Former State Trooper Thomas C. Wetherington, quoted on Nov. 21, about why he believes he was unfairly fired over losing his hat when other troopers have kept their jobs after being caught with their pants down.

Comments (1)

Of chapeaus and brandy

markjohnson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:14:26 -0500

HAT'S OFF: Lid blown on trooper firing. (N&O)

FAMILY LABEL: The father-son combo running New Hanover County's liquor stores together make nearly $348,000-a-year, and the state is taking a look at all local ABC salaries. (Star-News)

TUITION RISING: N.C. State raises the tab for students. (N&O)

Watchdog wants reforms

bniolet — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:20:41 -0500

Campaign finance watchdog Joe Sinsheimer is urging Gov. Bev Perdue to remove Ruffin Poole, a former top aide to Gov. Mike Easley, from the Golden LEAF board because he refused to testify at last month's state elections board hearing.

Sinsheimer, a Democratic political consultant who has emerged as an advocate of transparent government and campaign finance reforms, also said Perdue should release all reports on missing gubernatorial travel records from 2005, J. Andrew Curliss reports on the Investigations blog.

Perdue has so far refused to release the records.

In addition, he asks for a review of the permitting process surrounding a controversial cement plant near Wilmington, citing ongoing revelations about the state's environmental agency.

There was no immediate response from Perdue.

Update: A spokeswoman for Perdue said this afternoon that the governor is reviewing the letter and did not have a detailed response about Poole.

Document(s):
Sinsheimer_letter.pdf

Perdue: Patrol leader past irrelevant

bniolet — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:24:00 -0400

Gov. Beverly Perdue said today she did not disclose that her choice for state Highway Patrol Commander had been moved from his post early in his career after being caught in an extramarital affair because it wasn't relevant to the job he could do "for the people of North Carolina."

Patrol Commander Randy Glover earlier this week admitted to The News & Observer that he had been transferred when he was a trooper based in Harnett County 22 years ago after his supervisor learned he was having an affair with a sheriff's dispatcher, Dan Kane reports.

Glover, 49, was moved to New Bern, where he spent much of his 29-year career with the patrol.

Perdue, Glover and his direct boss, N.C. Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young, had declined to explain the transfer four months ago when Perdue appointed Glover to lead the patrol.

In a telephone news conference from China, where Perdue is seeking to drum up business for the state, the governor said the affair was not news.

Trooper says firing was harsh

bniolet — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:42:50 -0400

* A former state trooper wants his job back after being fired for having a drunken sexual encounter with another trooper's wife in the back seat of a car headed home from a Christmas party.

The woman's husband was in the front seat.

Timothy J. White of Salisbury was dismissed from the N.C. Highway Patrol on June 2 after he continued to contact the other trooper's wife, despite being told by his superiors to stay away from her, according to documents on file at the state Office of Administrative Hearings.

White, 39, was terminated for personal conduct unbecoming of an officer. He immediately filed an appeal on the grounds that he was being treated more harshly than other troopers accused of similar behavior.

Since 1998, state records show at least 27 cases of sexual misconduct by troopers either on or off duty. While some troopers were fired, several who had extramarital affairs or behaved inappropriately were given lesser punishments and later received promotions.

The incident that led to White's dismissal occurred after a Dec. 17 party at a bar in Mocksville, southwest of Winston-Salem. White, a patrol veteran who had been promoted to the rank of sergeant earlier that month, said he consumed about nine beers at the party. He then had a sexual encounter with the wife of Master Trooper Eric B. Perdue, according to the state report.

Perdue was White's subordinate and is listed as a witness to the incident. A third trooper was driving them home. (N&O)

* The director of the N.C. Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement announced his sudden retirement Monday, eight days after reports his agency bought all of its agents assault rifles and that two of the weapons were missing.

Bill Chandler's retirement was announced in an afternoon e-mail to the agency's employees from Reuben F. Young, the state secretary of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. Chandler, who was appointed to head ALE by former Gov. Mike Easley in November 2007, had worked at the agency 30 years as a field agent and supervisor.

Young said Chandler, 51, put in his retirement papers after the two had a private talk Monday morning. Though he would not discuss what specifically triggered the director's departure, the secretary said he was concerned by issues raised in a Sept. 13 article published in The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer.

Chandler will be replaced by John Ledford, a former ALE agent who is currently the sheriff of Madison County. Ledford, 44, will take over the agency in November, according to Young.

Bill would keep towing fair

bniolet — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:43:47 -0400

The legislature is trying to assure that drivers whose mangled cars are towed by companies called by the state Highway Patrol won't be paying more than others in needing a tow.

The House passed a bill today that insists tow companies who take part in a rotation list for the state Highway Patrol charge "reasonable rates," Mandy Locke reports. That charge should not be more than fees charged by companies not on the rotation list. The bill now returns to the Senate for a final vote.

"This is a big step in the right direction to make sure people are treated fairly on the side of the road when they are most vulnerable," said Capt. Everett Clendenin, spokesman for the state Highway Patrol.

Drivers have complained to the patrol for years that the towing companies troopers had called to help were gouging motorists. The patrol attempted to set price caps, but towing owners resisted.

The legislation will require that prices charged by those on the rotation be within 15 percent of a median price established for each region of the state. The median price will be determined based on estimates submitted by the companies.

Trooper photo case heard

kkiley — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:39:51 -0400

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.

More after the jump.

Another road block for ex-trooper

bkrueger — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:01:28 -0400

Former trooper Monty Steven Poarch's path back to the State Highway Patrol continues to get tougher.

In a trial earlier this month, a Buncombe County district judge found him guilty of a misdemeanor assault charge that involved a dispute over a parking space at an Asheville restaurant. The daughter of a Durham assistant district attorney was standing in the space, attempting to hold it for her boyfriend's car, when Poarch slowly drove into the space, forcing her out.

The conviction would jeopardize Poarch's law enforcement certification, which could cost him his current job as a captain with the Caldwell County Sheriff's Department, and put an end to his battle to get back with the patrol, said his attorney, Sean Devereux of Asheville, reports Dan Kane.

Poarch sued to return to the patrol after he was fired in 2003 for having sex with a woman in his patrol cruiser and at a patrol station.

Hats off to new grads

janestancill — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:37:56 -0400

Gov. Beverly Perdue spoke this morning in Cary at the graduation ceremony for the State Highway Patrol's 125th basic patrol school class.

The 40 new highway patrol officers who graduated today underwent physical and classroom training for the past 30 weeks, reports Kevin Kiley.

Perdue, who talked about riding along with troopers on weekends when she was a state senator to learn about their jobs, called on the graduates to continue to serve their state.

"That's your core mission," she told the class. "You didn't come here because you wanted to be a hero or a 'shero,' you've actually come here to serve."

FBI subpoenas Highway Patrol

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:08:21 -0400

The FBI issued a subpoena to the state Highway Patrol today, ordering the agency to produce all records related to private air travel of the Easley family.

The request is made as part of a grand jury investigation, according to the documents. The grand jury meets next week, according to the subpoena, Andy Curliss reports.

Besides seeking information about the private travels of former Gov. Mike Easley, his wife Mary Easley and his son Michael Easley Jr., the subpoena requests documents relating to:

* Payments made in exchange for the air travel.
* Communications with the Easley family regarding the private travel.
* Communications regarding public inquiries surrounding the air travel.
* The state Highway Patrol's records retention policy.
* The retention or destruction of records related to travel by the Easley family.

The News & Observer published a story on Saturday detailing private flights that the former governor took based on records Easley had kept secret while in office. Some flights were free, according to aircraft owners and pilots who flew him. Some were not reported on campaign disclosure reports, though the records show that they were campaign flights.

The records are held by the state Highway Patrol, which has a special unit to protect the governor. Easley and administration officials had said the records' release while he was in office would compromise his security.

In addition, the N&O showed in its report that there are gaps in the records and that other flights likely took place for which no records have been made available. Nothing has been provided for the entire year of 2005, for example. Patrol officials say they have scoured the unit's files and cannot locate any records other than those already provided.

Update: A second subpoena was served Friday at the patrol's headquarters and to Capt. Alan Melvin, who headed the unit for several years. Melvin was placed on administration duty as of 1 p.m. today, a patrol spokesman said. That means he will work only on administrative tasks.