More on Troopergate

I continue to be amazed by the disgust and distrust of the State Highway Patrol that I hear. One TAPster had a cogent analysis – and some thoughtful ideas:
 
“Here are a couple of policy suggestions for the governor and General Assembly as the putrid stench of testosterone and KY jelly wafts once again from the State Highway Patrol following the well-publicized complaint of trooper harassment in New Hanover County. These suggestions are made without hearing the trooper’s side of the story, which better be really, really good.
 
“First, the General Assembly should create an independent citizens panel to review cases like this. Appoint some judges, corporate leaders, normal people (maybe a political blogger) and give them subpoena power to ask hard questions when these events occur. The governor, her management team and the patrol commanders have lost their credibility to review and manage these situations. Every business has rogue employees, but the State Highway Patrol is different because its rogues carry big guns, drive supercharged cruisers and apparently can kidnap innocent citizens in the middle of the night.
 
“An independent panel could ask probing questions of patrol commanders, such as: Why are so many troopers cruising Wrightsville Beach after dark? isn’t that the job of the Wrightsville PD? (Oh, never mind, that’s where the pretty girls are.) Another question: would a bald guy who smelled like pizza and golf get a ride in a cruiser all over New Hanover County, or is that privilege reserved for blonde, sober hotties in pink cocktail dresses?
 
“Second, the General Assembly should explicitly clarify that every citizen has the right to video or audio record a traffic stop, and law enforcement officers are prohibited from stopping such a recording or using it against the citizen. The good troopers – which is almost all of them – shouldn’t have a problem with this because they do their job professionally and have nothing to hide.
 
“The SHP and the state’s political leadership have an ongoing, massive trust issue when sophisticated, blonde, female professionals in Raleigh promised this weekend that they will call *HP or 911 when they get a blue light in the mirror to make sure the stop is legitimate and not the beginning of a trooper’s dream date.”
 
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Gary Pearce

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More on Troopergate

I continue to be amazed by the disgust and distrust of the State Highway Patrol that I hear. One TAPster had a cogent analysis – and some thoughtful ideas:
 
“Here are a couple of policy suggestions for the governor and General Assembly as the putrid stench of testosterone and KY jelly wafts once again from the State Highway Patrol following the well-publicized complaint of trooper harassment in New Hanover County. These suggestions are made without hearing the trooper’s side of the story, which better be really, really good.
 
“First, the General Assembly should create an independent citizens panel to review cases like this. Appoint some judges, corporate leaders, normal people (maybe a political blogger) and give them subpoena power to ask hard questions when these events occur. The governor, her management team and the patrol commanders have lost their credibility to review and manage these situations. Every business has rogue employees, but the State Highway Patrol is different because its rogues carry big guns, drive supercharged cruisers and apparently can kidnap innocent citizens in the middle of the night.
 
“An independent panel could ask probing questions of patrol commanders, such as: Why are so many troopers cruising Wrightsville Beach after dark? isn’t that the job of the Wrightsville PD? (Oh, never mind, that’s where the pretty girls are.) Another question: would a bald guy who smelled like pizza and golf get a ride in a cruiser all over New Hanover County, or is that privilege reserved for blonde, sober hotties in pink cocktail dresses?
 
“Second, the General Assembly should explicitly clarify that every citizen has the right to video or audio record a traffic stop, and law enforcement officers are prohibited from stopping such a recording or using it against the citizen. The good troopers – which is almost all of them – shouldn’t have a problem with this because they do their job professionally and have nothing to hide.
 
“The SHP and the state’s political leadership have an ongoing, massive trust issue when sophisticated, blonde, female professionals in Raleigh promised this weekend that they will call *HP or 911 when they get a blue light in the mirror to make sure the stop is legitimate and not the beginning of a trooper’s dream date.”
 
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Gary Pearce

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