Highway Patrol

Dome Memo: Karma and love

bniolet — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:36:03 -0400

BOOMERANG: As stunts go, the Republican Party's "Conservative Voter Survey" ranks right up there with some of Evel Knievel's work. A wheelbarrow full of surveys was meant to show how many people don't like Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat. Over at Perdue's office, staff members sifted through the surveys and found plenty of irate voters upset with Republicans as well as a campaign contribution that was intended for the Republican Party.

I LOVE YOU, MAN: Republican Sen. Richard Burr's economic development summit in Durham will be remembered as a great moment in political reconciliation. Burr and the man he beat almost six years ago, UNC system President and Democrat Erskine Bowles, traded fawning, appreciative comments about each other. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination next year to challenge Burr will surely be seeing lots of Bowles' comments in TV ads.

PRO, CON: In Washington, Burr decried the stimulus package. In North Carolina, at a fire station that was getting a grant from stimulus funds, Burr celebrated it.

IN OTHER NEWS: Sen. Kay Hagan and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller are pushing for a coin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro civil rights sit-ins. Perdue says a 20-year old affair by the head of the highway patrol is irrelevant to his job qualifications. The Gallup Poll has found that John Edwards’ standing in the minds of Americans has dropped further than Sammy Sosa's image after the slugger was discovered corking his bat.

Patrol urges teens to drive, not text

bniolet — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:50:34 -0400

Anthony Richard, an 11th grader with Enloe High, tries to maneuver a golf cart while texting. The N.C. Highway Patrol officers visited the school Thursday to teach teenage drivers about the dangers of texting while driving. On Dec. 1 a law banning texting while driving takes effect. News & Observer staff photo by Takaaki Iwabu.

Dome Memo: Birthdays and Saviors

bniolet — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:42:40 -0400

LOW KEY BIRTHDAY: The Highway Patrol turns 80 this year and it may be a good year for a quiet celebration. Another misconduct allegation involving sex has been exposed and the patrol is not having a lot of success reversing a culture in which some troopers expected on-duty escapades as an unofficial fringe benefit. Patrol leaders asked employees to try to knock it off in honor of the patrol's anniversary.

CONS BEATING PROS: Republicans dug in on their opposition to Democratic health care reforms with U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick saying that a Democrat health care system might not have caught her breast cancer in time. Sen. Richard Burr said the plan would just shift the cost of the health care system to taxpayers. On the other side, Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan isn't ready to pick a reform plan, although she's sure one is needed.

WE'RE SAVED: A television advertisement funded by a conservative group catalogues corruption scandals involving Democrats. The group proclaims that it's here to rescue America from "radical socialism." A 30-second spot will probably just about do it.

IN OTHER NEWS: President Bill Clinton wasn't rattled by Sen. Jesse Helms inflammatory statements. Sen. Joe Lieberman is watering down an energy bill in an effort to get Republicans, including Burr, on board. State Rep. Ty Harrell has resigned his seat over questions about his campaign finance reports.

At their age?

bniolet — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:11:54 -0400

Whoever thought you'd have to tell an 80-year-old to behave?

The Highway Patrol apparently has joined Hugh Heffner and Anna Nicole Smith's late-husband among octogenarians who were having too much fun. So it must have seemed to patrol leaders like a good time to reflect on past, um, accomplishments.

Following disclosure this week of a Highway Patrol sergeant's dismissal for having a drunken sexual encounter with the wife of a trooper under his command, administrators sent an e-mail to all employees Wednesday.

Reminding the recipients that this year is the 80th anniversary of the patrol's founding, secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety Ruben Young and patrol commander Col. Randy Glover urged troopers to remember that their on-duty and off-duty behavior reflect on the force as a whole.

As we celebrate and reflect on the organization’s many accomplishments, we ask you to remember that everything we do, whether on- or off-duty, is a reflection not only on our organization, but also on those who have gone before us.

Let us always seek to honor their legacy and the reputation of the Patrol with our actions. In the final analysis, we are all public servants and we must answer to the citizens of North Carolina.

The full e-mail is available after the jump.

Allred pleads guilty to driving 102

bniolet — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:54:29 -0400

Former state Rep. Cary Allred has pleaded guilty to a speeding charge that contributed to the end of his career in the legislature.

Allred, an Alamance County Republican, pleaded guilty through his attorney Wednesday to driving 102 in a 60 mile-an-hour zone one evening in April.

When he was pulled over, Allred was on his way to the legislature. That night witnesses on the House floor say they smelled alcohol on his breath and saw him plant a hug and a kiss on a teenage paige.

The incident led to an ethics investigation and Allred eventually resigned.

Allred was initially let go by a Highway Patrolman after he displayed his legislative ID during the traffic stop. The Patrol cited him for speeding days later.

On Wednesday, Allred's attorney entered a guilty plea, said Judge Joe Buckner, the chief District Court judge for Orange and Chatham counties. In an agreement with prosecutors, Allred was fined $500 and will have to pay $130 in court costs.

The Department of Motor Vehicles suspends driving priviledges for convictions involving speeds of more than 55 miles per hour that are 15 miles over the limit. Allred may qualify for limited driving privileges, such as driving to work.

Trooper firing over picture upheld

bniolet — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:15:06 -0400

The State Personnel Commission upheld the firing of a state trooper who gave a credit union teller a doctored picture of a naked boy.

Ronald Gene Ezzell Jr. was at the drive-through of the State Employees Credit Union on Vernon Avenue in Kinston on Oct. 28, 2008, when he placed a laminated picture of a young naked boy with an enlarged penis superimposed on his body, along with identification and a check to be cashed, in the canister and sent it to a female teller. Ezzell was in uniform in a marked patrol car at the time.

At the hearing, Ezzell said he meant the photo as a joke, saying he told the teller that the picture was of him at his grandmother’s house as a child. Ezzell, who flew helicopters for the patrol, called his actions an error in judgment, but not grounds for dismissal.

The patrol dismissed Ezzell in February on the grounds that he engaged conduct unbecoming of a state employee.

An administrative law judge previously upheld the firing and the Personnel Commission upheld that decision. Ezzell could now appeal to Superior Court.

Captain's actions lead to new inquiry

bniolet — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:43:12 -0400

The head of the state agency that oversees the Highway Patrol is calling for an investigation into missing records detailing former Gov. Mike Easley's travels.

State Crime Control Secretary Reuben Young has requested an independent investigation of missing flight records and he has ordered the patrol captain involved in their disappearance to go back on administrative duty.

On Friday, the patrol confirmed that Capt. Alan Melvin had been returned to duty. This was after an internal inquiry, followed by an internal affairs investigation, determined that Melvin had not intended to remove or destroy the records.

Newly appointed patrol Commander Randy Glover had made that decision last month, but Young took Melvin off the job again Monday. Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said Young was concerned about new information that a patrol secretary had given to The News & Observer about the missing records.

The secretary assigned to the governor's security detail said in the internal inquiry that Melvin had told her to download flight records onto a computer disk and then give it to him. He told her to then delete the files to "free up space on the computer."

The secretary said in an interview with The N&O that she had never expressed a problem with the computer that would require the need to free up space.

Young "had not heard that information before," Clendenin said.

The computer was turned over to federal investigators in May. The patrol has found flight records for 2003 and 2004, but they have been unable to find them for 2005.

Republicans respond after the jump.

Patrol gives feds computer

bniolet — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:22:04 -0400

The state Highway Patrol said today that it has turned over to federal authorities a computer that once contained records regarding then Gov. Mike Easley's air travels that are now missing.

The computer had been assigned to Diane Bumgardner, a patrol secretary who works for the governor's security detail, Dan Kane reports.

On Friday, the patrol released an internal report of the missing records in which Bumgardner said the captain who oversaw the detail, Alan Melvin, had told her to download three years of flight records to a computer disk, give it to him and then delete the files from her computer.

More after the jump.

Judge upholds trooper firing

bniolet — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:07:07 -0400

A 19-year veteran state Highway Patrol trooper will not get his job back after an incident in which he sent a state credit union teller a doctored picture with an obscene image.

An administrative court judge ruled to uphold the firing of Ronald Gene Ezzell Jr., who prior to his dismissal flew helicopters for the patrol, for the incident, Kevin Kiley reports.

Ezzell was at the drive-through of the State Employees Credit Union on Vernon Avenue in Kinston on Oct. 28, 2008, when he placed a laminated picture of a young naked boy with an enlarged penis superimposed on his body, along with identification and a check to be cashed, in the canister and sent it to a female teller. Ezzell was in uniform in a marked patrol car at the time.

The patrol dismissed Ezzell in February on the grounds that he engaged conduct unbecoming of a state employee. Ezzell challenged the firing in the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings last month.

At the hearing, Ezzell said he meant the photo as a joke, saying he told the teller that the picture was of him at his grandmother’s house as a child. Ezzell called his actions an error in judgment, but not grounds for dismissal.

Wilson cancels retirement dinner

bniolet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:49:07 -0400

State Highway Patrol Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. has cancelled his retirement dinner.

Wilson sent a brief e-mail to Sgt. Clarence Stephens on Tuesday that offered little explanation for the cancellation. Stephens had sent notice to invitees the previous Friday.

"After further consideration, I have decided to cancel the retirement dinner on 24 July," Wilson wrote.

The dinner was supposed to have been held at the downtown Raleigh Sheraton at a cost of $28 per person.

Wilson announced last month that he was retiring to spend more time with his family after a year leading the 1,800 member patrol. Within days, Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Lt. Col. Randy Glover as Wilson's successor. Glover takes over Aug. 1.

Last week, Wilson's brother-in-law, Michael Madras of Raleigh, said the retirement was not planned. He said that Wilson had been forced out so Perdue could replace him with someone she wanted. Perdue, Wilson, Glover and other officials have declined to discuss the change in leadership.

Wilson could not be reached. Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said Wilson will not be in the office much this month. He is using accrued vacation days to finish out his remaining time.

Document(s):
Wilson_Retirement_Invitation.pdf