Troopers Association slams review

The N.C. Troopers Association is slamming an independent consultant's review of the state Highway Patrol.

The association released a statement today that called the report "incomplete, biased, misleading, and inaccurate in relevant parts." It also said the report is a "severe disservice" to troopers, the patrol and taxpayers, Dan Kane reports.

The association is the second group to criticize the review. John Midgette, the N.C. Police Benevolent Association's executive director, also delivered a harsh critique after the review was released on Wednesday.

Kroll of New York City was hired to perform a review of the patrol's hiring, training and supervision practices. Gov. Mike Easley called for the review last fall after several high profile cases of trooper misconduct.

He and N.C. Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Bryan Beatty have praised its findings.

More after the jump.

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The review produced more than 40 recommendations ranging from freeing up front-line supervisors of bureaucratic tasks so they can spend more time in the field to better pay for troopers. It also found that the patrol was a "highly professional, well-managed" organization.

Terry Story, the troopers association president, had expressed support for many of the recommendations in an interview with The News & Observer on Wednesday, but he said at the time that his comments were based on media reports of the review, which he had not yet read.

The association said that it has the same concerns Midgette voiced, that the review was flawed from the start because it did not take a broad enough look at problems within the patrol.

Troopers have long complained about unequal treatment in disciplinary actions, a concern the review acknowledged but did not support. The reviewers did not closely examine disciplinary cases, noting that the state's personnel laws bar the public from much of that information.

The troopers association also said that Kroll should have surveyed the entire force, instead of interviewing a sampling of troopers.