Quote :

"Caller: Trooper was 'drunk' Witness said he was staggering Dan Kane and Joe Marusak, McClatchy Newspapers A caller to a state Highway Patrol dispatcher regarding a trooper suspected of being drunk on duty described an out-of-control officer smelling of alcohol and harassing construction workers in a busy work zone. "There's construction work going on ... and the state trooper is running up and down the road harassing people," the caller said, "and he got out and just tried to fight an old man. And the smell on his breath, he's drunk, really drunk." The caller said the trooper "got out of the car staggering," according to a copy of a dispatch tape obtained by McClatchy Newspapers on Wednesday. Two Montgomery County sheriff's deputies who were at the scene Friday night on U.S. 220 south of Candor pulled over the trooper, Christopher Shane Grubbs. They said that he smelled of alcohol. Sheriff Jeff Jordan later said that Grubbs admitted to his deputies that he had been drinking "a little bit" before his shift, which had begun four hours earlier. A supervisor from the Highway Patrol who arrived at the scene about an hour later, Sgt. Eric L. Thompson, also smelled alcohol on Grubbs, but determined there was not enough probable cause to make an arrest on a DWI charge. Grubbs resigned Monday. On Wednesday, state Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Bryan Beatty, whose department oversees the patrol, defended Thompson's actions. "He made the determination that ... [Grubbs] did not show appreciable signs of impairment," Beatty said. Beatty said Thompson's determination was based on his observations of Grubbs at the scene. Beatty said that no law enforcement official had observed any erratic behavior by Grubbs behind the wheel, or any of the activity that the caller and another witness had reported. The caller was not identified. Patrol officials said Wednesday that they are not challenging his account. Jordan said Tuesday that he thinks his deputies rightfully detained a trooper on suspicion of drunken driving. He said that the patrol's decision not to file charges and not to comment initially on the incident put him in an uncomfortable situation. But Beatty questioned Jordan's take on the incident. Beatty said that the sheriff's deputies could have charged Grubbs with DWI. "Why Montgomery County did not charge him, I can't answer that," Beatty said. Jordan said his department typically turns over DWI cases to the patrol so he can devote his deputies to other work. Grubbs, 34, had been with the patrol for 12 years and was stationed in Montgomery County. His actions triggered an internal personnel investigation. Highway Patrol policy makes it a firing offense for troopers to have any alcohol in their systems while on duty, even if it is less than the 0.08 percent blood alcohol content level needed to charge someone with DWI. Beatty said that once Thompson determined there was not enough evidence for a criminal charge, he sought to have Grubbs blow into an Intoxilyzer to determine whether any alcohol was in his system as a step in his administrative review of Grubbs' actions. Beatty said Grubbs refused, and that alone could have been grounds for his dismissal. The refusal just meant that Grubbs did not want any proof developed to show he had any alcohol in his system, Beatty said. "He could have had a legitimate reason for refusing, because if he had blown a 0.03, he could have been fired," Beatty said. The incident is another in a string of cases of trooper misbehavior in recent months that has led to an outside review of the 1,800-member force. On Wednesday, the Highway Patrol said that a trooper arrested earlier this month in Wake County and charged with DWI and resisting arrest had resigned. Lt. Everett Clendenin said that Steven Bradley, 38, of Apex quit Monday in lieu of being dismissed. Raleigh police said Bradley ran a stop sign and drove his personal car into a pond. Two children were in the car with him. Police said Bradley scuffled with them and they had to use a Taser gun to subdue him. Court records show that a Breathalyzer test indicated Bradley's blood alcohol content was 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. In Wednesday's interview, Beatty continued to say that the cases are evidence only of a few isolated problems and not a systemwide breakdown. He also said that in each case, the patrol has taken proper action to punish those who misbehave. "The question ought to be, 'How are we handling it?' " Beatty said. "And the fact that we take disciplinary action, even for things that other agencies wouldn't handle, ought to be commended, not criticized." "

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/story/840415.html

12/20/2007 9:57:41 AM

Quote :

"The question ought to be, 'How are we handling it?' " Beatty said. "And the fact that we take disciplinary action, even for things that other agencies wouldn't handle, ought to be commended, not criticized"

so now the troopers should be applauded for, not expected to do what they're supposed to, huh

I love PR spin.

12/20/2007 10:03:15 AM

protect and serve

12/20/2007 10:04:04 AM

Quote :

"protect and serve swerve"

12/20/2007 10:09:21 AM

This is a different incident from the guy that ran in to the pond on Jones Franklin Rd. Thats like two in two weeks.


To me this says 3 things.

1. Cops are not any less likely to make mistakes or practice bad judgment that anyone else.

2. Everything that has been done over the last 20 years to stop people from drunk driving has not accomplished anything. We can run ads, toughen laws, and raise the drinking age all we want, the inherent problem is people do not make the best decisions when they are drunk.

Stuff like this should be standard equipment on cars.
http://www.engadget.com/2005/05/30/steering-wheel-alcohol-lock/

12/20/2007 10:14:01 AM

Ouch

12/20/2007 10:14:49 AM

Quote :

""There's construction work going on ... and the state trooper is running up and down the road harassing people," the caller said, "and he got out and just tried to fight an old man. And the smell on his breath, he's drunk, really drunk." The caller said the trooper "got out of the car staggering," according to a copy of a dispatch tape "

I lol'd at this, particularly the old man thing.

12/20/2007 10:16:25 AM

cops

12/20/2007 10:17:29 AM