Wednesday
Sep262007
Easley Directs Highway Patrol Hiring Practices Review
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at 3:41PM The N.C. Highway Patrol will review its hiring and supervisory procedures after allegations of sexual misconduct by state troopers. Governor Easley's demand for a review of hiring practices came yesterday, after three troopers were dismissed recently, including one fired for having sex in his patrol car and in a patrol office. A state administrative-law judge has ordered that the trooper keep his job, but Easley has said that he won’t reinstate the trooper.
Applicants for state trooper positions already must undergo a criminal-record check, background investigation, drug screening, and written and physical tests. They must also pass a polygraph exam, a psychological test and appear before an applicant-review panel.
After six months in basic patrol schools, applicants participate in a 12-week evaluation program at the station where they are assigned. Then, their immediate supervisor evaluates them for 11 months. New troopers also get training in ethics and the law.
Another trooper was fired after being accused of abducting two women and making sexual advances to them. The third lost his job after being accused of targeting young, female drivers. In a recent court case, a state administrative-law judge said that former Trooper Monty Stevens Poarch’s behavior was egregious enough to warrant being fired. But she also ruled that Poarch, fired in 2003 for having extramarital sex in his patrol cruiser and a patrol office, should get both his job back and back pay.
Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter ruled last week that Poarch’s attorney should have the opportunity to present other cases in which troopers had sex while on duty. Another trooper was not fired although he also had sex while on duty and made more than 20 threatening calls to his former wife.
Applicants for state trooper positions already must undergo a criminal-record check, background investigation, drug screening, and written and physical tests. They must also pass a polygraph exam, a psychological test and appear before an applicant-review panel.
After six months in basic patrol schools, applicants participate in a 12-week evaluation program at the station where they are assigned. Then, their immediate supervisor evaluates them for 11 months. New troopers also get training in ethics and the law.
Another trooper was fired after being accused of abducting two women and making sexual advances to them. The third lost his job after being accused of targeting young, female drivers. In a recent court case, a state administrative-law judge said that former Trooper Monty Stevens Poarch’s behavior was egregious enough to warrant being fired. But she also ruled that Poarch, fired in 2003 for having extramarital sex in his patrol cruiser and a patrol office, should get both his job back and back pay.
Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter ruled last week that Poarch’s attorney should have the opportunity to present other cases in which troopers had sex while on duty. Another trooper was not fired although he also had sex while on duty and made more than 20 threatening calls to his former wife.
Reader Comments