The Nebraska State Patrol is conducting an internal investigation after one of its troopers is accused of showing preferential treatment to another law enforcement officer.
An off-duty Sarpy County sheriff's deputy was pulled over December 20th suspected of drunk driving. But the man in charge of the State Patrol, Col. Bryan Tuma, confirms the deputy was never given a sobriety test, never arrested and was allowed to get a ride home with a friend.
The allegations come amidst a DWI crackdown by the State Patrol, with a 37-percent increase in arrests last year by Omaha's Troop A alone. It was one of those troopers, Col. Tuma says, who let a suspected drunk driver go. “I believe he acknowledges that he made a mistake."
"The fact that (the party pulled over) was a law enforcement official may have had some bearing, may have had some influence on his decision of how he followed through."
"It's a double standard," says UNO Criminal Justice Professor Sam Walker, "because someones getting a break because he's a law enforcement officer."
The Nebraska State Patrol calls it an isolated incident.
Colonel Tuma says, "We know that there was alcohol involved and that officer allowed the person to be transported from the scene. Clearly out of context of what we normally do."
The stop happened after midnight on southbound Interstate 680 at Highway 75. One trooper noticed a car driving without headlights and pulled the driver over.
The trooper already had a suspect in custody from an earlier stop. “He radioed for assistance, another one of our troopers that was in the area came over and took over the traffic stop," says Col. Tuma.
That second, unnamed trooper approached the suspect’s vehicle. “There was an odor of alcohol in the vehicle. What's concerning is the trooper didn't follow through exactly the way we would prefer they follow through on one of those types of contacts."
"Instead of making an arrest or writing a citation or whatever was appropriate for that particular case, didn't occur and that's out of sync with our protocols."
For all we know -- the deputy who was off-duty and driving without headlights on may have been perfectly sober -- but without a test -- no one really knows.
The incident is disappointing says Mothers Against Drunk Driving Executive Director Simera Reynolds. "What we want to see is equitable treatment of all offenders. I think that this is a particular event that was unfortunate, but I don't think it's common practice."
Col. Tuma says his office was told about the situation immediately and the matter was turned over to Internal Affairs. However, the details of that investigation are not being disclosed.
"The officer will be disciplined here, appropriately, in the not-too-distant future," says Col. Tuma. He calls what happened “an error in judgment,” one which the trooper has admitted to and which is being taken "very seriously."
Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis says a supervisor in his department was contacted when the off-duty deputy was stopped. He says his office understood the State Patrol would follow whatever steps were called for.
Since the sheriff’s department discovered protocol was broken, they conducted their own internal investigation. “Appropriate steps were taken with the deputy,” says Davis. He says just what steps were taken are an internal matter and cannot be released to the public. The same for State Trooper.
"I don't know if this should be a firing offense," says Professor Walker, "but definitely some discipline. There needs to be additional training and a reminder to officers that this isn't acceptable. It's favoritism and 'look the other way' and 'excuse your crime' when we wouldn't do that for somebody else."
Last year, the State Patrol’s drunk driving arrests increased by more than 18 percent over the previous year. The number of road fatalities also decreased, from 91 in 2007 to 60 in 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment