My old topic has been idle for 90 days so I can't post in it, but:



Official: Trooper Fired After 'Political Intervention' From Gov's Press Office


Posted: Today at 11:59 a.m.
Updated: Today at 1:06 p.m.

Raleigh, N.C. — A senior member of the Highway Patrol says he was forced, by political pressure from the governor’s press office, to fire a sergeant without due process last September.

Lt Col. Cecil Lockley fired Sgt. Charles Jones after a fellow patrolman turned over a cell phone video of Jones allegedly using abusive training techniques with his police dog, Ricoh.

In his deposition Tuesday, Lockley testified that, in his opinion, “unlawful political intervention occurred in this case.” The new details surfaced because Jones filed a complaint to get his job back.

“If the governor’s press office had not intervened in this matter, and let the case run its course, I would not have come to the same conclusion as I did on September 9, 2007,” Lockley wrote.

Lockley said he had a conversation with Lt. Everitt Clendenin that led to Jones’ termination.

“I arrived at this conclusion from my discussion with Lt. Clendenin after he had been in some discussion with the governor’s press office. ‘They want him (Jones) gone’ were Lt. Clendenin’s words,” Lockley wrote.

“This political intervention obstructed and denied (Jones) his rights under the North Carolina State Personnel Act,” Lockley continued.

Jones filed suit against the state, alleging that procedures were violated when he was fired in September. He coordinated K-9 training for the Highway Patrol.

Court documents described the incident, which began when Ricoh refused to release a chew reward, as Jones tying the dog's leash to a high railing so that only his hind legs touched the ground, then kicking the dog four times to leave the animal dangling on its leash and collar.

In his lawsuit, Jones cites training techniques the general public might not understand.

Lockley said he felt Jones "acted in the manner he was trained."

The video hasn't been publicly released, and a spokesperson for the patrol says the district attorney is reviewing it for possible criminal charges.

Jones' civil trial begins April 28.

4/18/2008 5:37:09 PM

"Look, I wouldn't have fired him for animal abuse had you guys not forced me to!"

What a fucking idiot. Why does he think it's a good thing to admit that?

4/18/2008 5:44:43 PM

well he would have been fired either way...just a lot sooner. Except if he hadn't caved under pressure he might have been able to get his job back by now.

4/18/2008 6:06:44 PM

who gives a fuck. people getting fired every day over bigger and smaller things than this.

4/18/2008 6:18:53 PM

hmmm, strange resemblance...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yioJQFrqMXM

4/18/2008 8:51:18 PM

All I've got for ya here is that it looks like both sides are filled with morons in this argument.

Talking about the guy who got fired, the people who wanted him gone, the guy who fired him. That article is a mindfuck.

4/18/2008 10:02:15 PM

^^hahahha

4/18/2008 10:40:42 PM

guy looks like a cock mongler.

^^^ lol on vid

4/19/2008 12:37:21 PM

I mean I do not know what the rules are with training police dogs or whatever, but I do not see why the tropper should get more job security than the rest of us. I mean if anyone in the private sector does something that brings bad press to his company they get the ax no questions asked.

4/19/2008 1:07:11 PM

^welcome to working for the state. Hey sparky unlock my old thread.

I think the whole program should be disbanded...we have more municipalities and less rural roads than when it was founded.

Here is a history from their website:

Quote :

"In 1921, 150,558 motor vehicles were registered in North Carolina. By 1929, the number of registered vehicles increased to 503,590. As the number of vehicles increased, so did the number of people killed in traffic accidents: 690 ideaths in 1929. Traffic control was of such concern that in 1929 the General Assembly passed an act authorizing the establishment of a State Highway Patrol. The new organization was given statutory responsibility to patrol the highways of the state, enforce the motor vehicle laws, and assist the motoring public. The organization was designed as a division of the State Highway Commission. The Highway Commission initially sent ten men (later designated as a captain and nine lieutenants) to Pennsylvania to attend the training school of the Pennsylvania State Police. Their mission was to study law, first aid, light adjustments, vehicle operation, and related subjects for use in North Carolina's first Patrol School. An office was established in Raleigh to serve as state headquarters, and a district office was established in each of the nine highway districts. A lieutenant and three patrolmen were assigned to each district. All patrolmen were issued Harley Davidson motorcycles and the lieutenants drove Model A Ford Coupes. The Patrol commander was issued a Buick automobile."

4/20/2008 10:49:40 AM

Police generally get a ton of bad press regardless if they were wrong or right. So that isnt normally a condition for firing unless they seriously screwed up. This guy did. I have no idea how you train police dogs, but I am damn well sure that hanging and kicking a dog is not part of it. The police and army would have PETA so far up their asses if this were true that they'd never get to use the dogs. Police dog training is harsh, but it doesn't resemble abuse. It would be more in line with strict dog show training accompanied with attack procedures. There are plenty of other ways to subjugate a dog than doing what this officer did. His job was terminated correctly, if hastily by protocol standards.

4/21/2008 9:06:37 AM

Im pretty sure I hadnt seen any of our K-9 officers hangin then kicking the crap out of a dog when they do well they get a squeaky toy. when they do bad they blame the weather haha.

4/22/2008 3:55:14 PM

Quote :

"Favorite Quote : Win if you can. Loose if you must but always cheat."

nice... a police officer that values cheating.....

4/22/2008 4:04:51 PM

bttt per request

4/29/2009 2:57:12 PM

Quote :

"Trooper challenges his dismissal A state trooper who was recently fired after showing a bank teller an explicit photo is challenging the dismissal in state administrative court. Ronald G. Ezzell Jr., 43, of Beulaville, a helicopter pilot for the patrol, said the firing was unjustified and "totally disproportionate to the conduct engaged in and inconsistent with personnel actions taken by the Patrol in other cases involving far more egregious conduct." Ezzell also accused the patrol of releasing information protected under state personnel law. According to personnel documents obtained by The News & Observer, Ezzell showed the picture on Oct. 28 while doing business at a drive-through window of a State Employees Credit Union branch in Kinston. Ezzell is accused of showing a photo of a naked little boy with a "large male" penis to an employee. It's unclear whether the photo was doctored. He was in uniform and in a patrol car at the time. He said he showed the picture as a joke, claiming it to be a picture of him as a boy. He said he did not intend to offend anyone. State Highway Patrol officials declined to provide information on the firing, other than to confirm Ezzell's dismissal in February. He is a 19-year member of the patrol and was honored for his rescue and evacuation efforts when the West Pharmaceuticals plant in Kinston exploded six years ago. The state's personnel law generally prohibits the public from finding out about disciplinary actions against state employees. The law does give agencies the opportunity to release the information in situations in which an agency's integrity is called into question."

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1505389.html

LOL

4/29/2009 11:36:14 PM

fuck the police fuck the police fuck em

5/2/2009 5:45:08 PM

Quote :

"Troubled ex-trooper dealt another setback Former trooper Monty Steven Poarch's path back to the state Highway Patrol continues to get tougher. In a trial 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. Poarch sued to return to his job after he was fired in 2003 for having sex with a woman in his cruiser and at a patrol station. An administrative judge agreed with Poarch, finding that he was subjected to disparate treatment. Other troopers caught in similar or worse behavior remained part of the patrol. The decision made public numerous cases of trooper misconduct over the past decade and created a major embarrassment for the agency. The patrol and the state Personnel Commission rejected the law judge's finding, and Poarch is now trying to win that case in state Superior Court. But that effort might all be moot if Poarch loses his appeal on the misdemeanor conviction. He has appealed to Superior Court. Devereux said a trial has been scheduled for the week of July 20."

6/26/2009 10:52:39 AM

Quote :

"In a trial 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."

Oh I see. He gets screwed because the rules don't apply to her and she whined to her daddy that some mean old man forced her out of the parking spot. They're both idiots, the girl just gets away with it.

6/26/2009 11:37:16 AM

^pretty much.

it's like a buddy of mine would say.... he'd bump the ends of his index fingers together and say "two dickheads bumping into each other"

6/26/2009 12:10:40 PM

^^He's not being "screwed" in anyay except by himself. Yea, they're both idiots. But he should've taken the high road because he's a public figure. She's just a lawyer's daughter. It's dumb to use a car to push somebody in any circumstance, no matter how trivial. The guy sounds like a hot head and he shouldn't be serving for Caldwell County either.

6/26/2009 4:18:34 PM

cops are fuckin disgusting trash

6/28/2009 8:07:59 PM

Quote :

"[quote]clust our"

[/quote]

6/28/2009 8:29:48 PM

you have to be a douche to push someone out of a parking space with your car

6/28/2009 8:34:30 PM

i could see myself doing that

6/30/2009 7:32:01 AM