Yurt
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Trooper fired for offering Florida lawmaker break on speeding ticket
In a rarity among modern American jurisprudence, a state highway trooper has lost his job over a traffic ticket he didn't write and now his fight has sparked a wider dispute over who gets preferential treatment for enforcing the law on the road. Does anyone need to guess that this happened in Florida?
The tale starts last November, when Florida Highway Patrol trooper Charles Swindle stopped state Rep. Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville, for doing 87 mph in a 70 mph zone. McBurney was driving a Toyota with a license plate identifying him as a state lawmaker; after checking with his sergeant, Swindle told McBurney "I'm cutting you a break" and cited him only for lacking proof of insurance a $10 ticket rather than a $280 one that McBurney could have faced.
According to Florida state investigators, Swindle did the same for another driver he pulled over at the same time, telling his dispatcher Im going to write (McBurney) a warning and be nice; Im going to stroke him cause I didnt see his insurance card."
But the episode bothered McBurney (who denied going 87 mph) so much that he wrote to Swindle's superiors on legislature letterhead, complaining that Swindle was favoring state officials. "If those who enforce our laws fail to meet the highest ethical standards, there is erosion of that confidence," McBurney wrote. "I am concerned that as Trooper Swindle acted in such fashion to me, that he would do so to any law-abiding citizen of our state."
That letter launched an internal investigation, and two weeks ago, Swindle was fired for "conduct unbecoming a public employee." And now Swindle and his attorney have appealed his dismissal, contending the Florida Highway Patrol has an unwritten policy of letting state lawmakers off easy at traffic stops to avoid trouble come budget-writing time. The FHP denies that's the case, and has speeding tickets written to several lawmakers over the past few years to show it.
Trooper fired for offering Florida lawmaker break on speeding ticket | Motoramic - Yahoo! Autos
i hope that a-hole never gets reelected.
In a rarity among modern American jurisprudence, a state highway trooper has lost his job over a traffic ticket he didn't write and now his fight has sparked a wider dispute over who gets preferential treatment for enforcing the law on the road. Does anyone need to guess that this happened in Florida?
The tale starts last November, when Florida Highway Patrol trooper Charles Swindle stopped state Rep. Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville, for doing 87 mph in a 70 mph zone. McBurney was driving a Toyota with a license plate identifying him as a state lawmaker; after checking with his sergeant, Swindle told McBurney "I'm cutting you a break" and cited him only for lacking proof of insurance a $10 ticket rather than a $280 one that McBurney could have faced.
According to Florida state investigators, Swindle did the same for another driver he pulled over at the same time, telling his dispatcher Im going to write (McBurney) a warning and be nice; Im going to stroke him cause I didnt see his insurance card."
But the episode bothered McBurney (who denied going 87 mph) so much that he wrote to Swindle's superiors on legislature letterhead, complaining that Swindle was favoring state officials. "If those who enforce our laws fail to meet the highest ethical standards, there is erosion of that confidence," McBurney wrote. "I am concerned that as Trooper Swindle acted in such fashion to me, that he would do so to any law-abiding citizen of our state."
That letter launched an internal investigation, and two weeks ago, Swindle was fired for "conduct unbecoming a public employee." And now Swindle and his attorney have appealed his dismissal, contending the Florida Highway Patrol has an unwritten policy of letting state lawmakers off easy at traffic stops to avoid trouble come budget-writing time. The FHP denies that's the case, and has speeding tickets written to several lawmakers over the past few years to show it.
Trooper fired for offering Florida lawmaker break on speeding ticket | Motoramic - Yahoo! Autos
i hope that a-hole never gets reelected.
