Trooper who confessed to fixing ticket back on duty
Dec 2, 2005, 06:36 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A state trooper who resigned after admitting he forged a judge's signature to fix a speeding ticket but was later rehired, is one reason Gov. Phil Bredesen has called for a sweeping review of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Questions about the case of one-time "Trooper of the Year" Jerry Dean Watson were among those raised by The Tennessean, leading the governor to order the review this week.
It includes a background check of the department's 855 commissioned officers -- which revealed 48 troopers with criminal charges on their records -- and an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into possible additional criminal activity in the Watson case.
Bredesen said Thursday that an internal audit of the THP done during the previous governor's administration also revealed possible criminal activity, including "trading ticket fixing for liquor and food and those kinds of things." The audit has been given to the TBI for its investigation.
An internal investigation of Watson appeared to have ended prematurely when he resigned in November 2001, right after pleading guilty to the felony forgery charge, Bredesen said.
Watson acknowledged to a state investigator that he fixed the ticket of an employee of a Knoxville meat-packing firm that had been giving troopers gifts of meat for years, according to the transcript of an interview between an investigator and Watson. Watson even visited the meat packer with a THP supervisor, the transcript says.
"What they told me is that in that file, there is an interview in which the allegation was made that 'business as usual' over there was fixing tickets of the employees of the company and so on and so forth," Bredesen told The Tennessean. "If that kind of stuff happens, it is, in fact, illegal activity."
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Duane Slone sentenced Watson on Nov. 13, 2001, to 500 hours of community service, a $1,500 fine and two years' probation. "What he did strikes at the heart of the judicial system," the judge said at the time. "He is an officer sworn to protect our laws."
Slone, however, agreed to wipe Watson's record clean if he stayed out of trouble during his probation.
Watson was rehired by the THP in January 2003, after the forgery charge was expunged for meeting the terms of his judicial diversion.
About a month later, state Safety Commissioner Fred Phillips signed a letter indicating Watson had previously left state employment "in good standing."
Phillips said he did not know of Watson's previous problems until The Tennessean started inquiring about them this week. Col. Lynn Pitts, the current THP commander, also said he did not know of the previous problems until this week.
Watson, 48, declined to comment.
According to campaign finance disclosure records, Watson made a series of contributions to the 2002 campaigns of both Bredesen and his Republican opponent that year, Van Hilleary. All told, the trooper gave $1,750 to Hilleary and $500 to Bredesen, records show.
http://www.wsmv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4189307
If you will "fix" a ticket, you can not be trusted, IMO.
Dec 2, 2005, 06:36 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A state trooper who resigned after admitting he forged a judge's signature to fix a speeding ticket but was later rehired, is one reason Gov. Phil Bredesen has called for a sweeping review of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Questions about the case of one-time "Trooper of the Year" Jerry Dean Watson were among those raised by The Tennessean, leading the governor to order the review this week.
It includes a background check of the department's 855 commissioned officers -- which revealed 48 troopers with criminal charges on their records -- and an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into possible additional criminal activity in the Watson case.
Bredesen said Thursday that an internal audit of the THP done during the previous governor's administration also revealed possible criminal activity, including "trading ticket fixing for liquor and food and those kinds of things." The audit has been given to the TBI for its investigation.
An internal investigation of Watson appeared to have ended prematurely when he resigned in November 2001, right after pleading guilty to the felony forgery charge, Bredesen said.
Watson acknowledged to a state investigator that he fixed the ticket of an employee of a Knoxville meat-packing firm that had been giving troopers gifts of meat for years, according to the transcript of an interview between an investigator and Watson. Watson even visited the meat packer with a THP supervisor, the transcript says.
"What they told me is that in that file, there is an interview in which the allegation was made that 'business as usual' over there was fixing tickets of the employees of the company and so on and so forth," Bredesen told The Tennessean. "If that kind of stuff happens, it is, in fact, illegal activity."
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Duane Slone sentenced Watson on Nov. 13, 2001, to 500 hours of community service, a $1,500 fine and two years' probation. "What he did strikes at the heart of the judicial system," the judge said at the time. "He is an officer sworn to protect our laws."
Slone, however, agreed to wipe Watson's record clean if he stayed out of trouble during his probation.
Watson was rehired by the THP in January 2003, after the forgery charge was expunged for meeting the terms of his judicial diversion.
About a month later, state Safety Commissioner Fred Phillips signed a letter indicating Watson had previously left state employment "in good standing."
Phillips said he did not know of Watson's previous problems until The Tennessean started inquiring about them this week. Col. Lynn Pitts, the current THP commander, also said he did not know of the previous problems until this week.
Watson, 48, declined to comment.
According to campaign finance disclosure records, Watson made a series of contributions to the 2002 campaigns of both Bredesen and his Republican opponent that year, Van Hilleary. All told, the trooper gave $1,750 to Hilleary and $500 to Bredesen, records show.
http://www.wsmv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4189307
If you will "fix" a ticket, you can not be trusted, IMO.
