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Ex-Trooper: Politics Rampant in Agency -- Testifies to Senate Panel That His Support for GOP Got Him 'Run Out' of Job

Posted on: Thursday, 9 February 2006, 09:00 CST

By Associated Press

NASHVILLE - A former Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper told state senators he was fired because his family supported Republican candidates in the 2002 elections.

"The gist of my story was I was run out of the Highway Patrol," former trooper Charles B. Farmer told members of the Senate Transportation Committee earlier this week.

The committee is investigating allegations of favoritism and the influence of politics on the agency. The Highway Patrol has been stung recently by a series of scandals, ranging from political favoritism and ticket fixing, to some troopers having criminal backgrounds and others selling merchandise to the state in violation of purchasing laws.

Farmer presented senators with documents outlining political contributions made to Republicans by his wife and father-in-law.

Farmer said he was chastised for supporting Republican candidates.

He also provided the lawmakers a transcript of a conversation with the superior who reportedly suggested Farmer should have made a contribution to Democrats.

"Obviously, this conversation is disturbing to me. This is infuriating," state Sen. Jamie Hagood, R-Knoxville, said.

Records reviewed by The Tennessean last year showed that two- thirds of Highway Patrol promotions during the administration of Gov. Phil Bredesen went to officers who gave money to the governor's campaign, or had family members or political patrons who did. More than half in that group were promoted although they were competing against officers with higher promotion scores, the newspaper reported.

Troopers and former troopers across the state told the newspaper that political pressure, campaign donations and a culture of favors for the powerful dominate the Highway Patrol and have for much of its history.

Bredesen has shifted Transportation Commissioner Jerry Nicely temporarily to the Department of Safety to fix problems there.

Farmer told senators that he had gotten positive work reviews for 20 years until 2003 when he was given a low score and permanently assigned to an overnight work shift.

"It was harassment," said Farmer's lawyer, Arthur Knight of Knoxville.

Farmer has filed a federal harassment lawsuit against the Department of Safety. The suit seeks $25 million in damages.

Source: Commercial Appeal, The

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