Nosy…And Lonely?
Posted on September 21, 2008 at 11:23 amThe THP has completed its investigation of the unauthorized background checks performed by Lt. Ronnie Shirley but has revealed a bit more about that illustrious list of 182 which included two journalists and a country music artist:
Davidson County District Attorney Torry Johnson and U.S. Attorney Ed Yarborough will evaluate the case delivered to them on Friday. THP Lt. Ronnie Shirley is accused of running unauthorized checks on as many as 182 private citizens and state employees. Many were women, a fact that the patrol leadership has been reluctant to elaborate on.
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SACKED: Due Process Letter Served On Trooper Shirley
Posted on September 3, 2008 at 12:30 pmIt is official. The snooper trooper has been terminated:
“I recommended to Commissioner Dave Mitchell that Lieutenant Shirley be terminated for gross misconduct and violating the public’s trust as a Tennessee State Trooper,” stated Colonel Mike Walker. “The recommendation to terminate was based upon evidence developed during an investigation conducted by the Department of Safety’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). Lt. Shirley’s conduct and actions relative to this investigation are unacceptable for a Tennessee State Trooper. This type of behavior overshadows the majority of Troopers who are true professionals, dedicated to protecting the citizens of Tennessee with respect to their civil liberties.”
….“The investigation determined there was no political motive behind the actions of Lt. Shirley nor was he acting at the direction of any other individual,” stressed Department of Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell. “No politicians or known elected public officials were among the individuals checked. There is no evidence whatsoever of any political motivation behind the unauthorized checks conducted by Lieutenant Shirley.”
The Price You Pay For The Life You Choose
Posted on August 25, 2008 at 11:33 amJeff Woods thinks the media is blowing the fact that THP Lieutenant Ronnie Shirley ran a background check on journalist Brad Schrade is no big to do:
Let’s stop all the whining. This is the way the world works: We write stories that people don’t like, then those people try to get back at us. Any reporter who feels intimidated by the snooper trooper ought to find a new line of work.
Murder Ink: Papers React To THP’s Investigation Of A Journalist
Posted on at 7:15 amThe editorial voice of the City Paper:
Certainly, running background checks on members of the press — particularly one fervent in monitoring the problems in the THP — appears far out of bounds of Shirley’s duties or anyone in state government for that matter. Such actions absent of any cogent, real-world explanation smack of the kind of political dirty tricks and intimidation tactics common to some of the worst moments and lowest points in our American democracy. The potential for misdeeds and a chilling effect on the press is enormous.
Gov. Phil Bredesen has classified Shirley as simply a “nosy” trooper. It would be convenient to be able to give Bredesen the benefit of the doubt, but this latest revelation about Shirley’s use of the state’s background checking ability to apparently research such a key member of the press to the THP is past the tipping point — even if in the end he proves to be the nosy type the governor suspects.
It’s So On: Schrade One Of The Journos Investigated By Rogue THP Officer
Posted on August 23, 2008 at 11:56 pmAnd they thought Schrade had been up in their grill before:
A list of 182 people believed to have been subjects of background checks from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer includes the Tennessean reporter who revealed the highway patrol’s probe into the officer’s unauthorized activities.
Brad Schrade, who has reported on the highway patrol for years and first reported the probe earlier this month, received a call Saturday morning from a highway patrol special agent who said that Lt. Ronnie Shirley, the subject of the probe, had accessed Schrade’s background information.
SEE ALSO:
Bill Hobbs
Bredesen’s Watergate
Hurtt Pride
How To Go After Your Political Opponent And Look Good Doing It
Posted on August 21, 2008 at 11:02 amThe always jaded Jeff Woods points out an important angle in Rep. Gary Odom valient fight for investigation into the THP scandal:
Especially amusing are the antics of House Majority Leader Gary Odom. He’s demanding an independent investigation and grandstanding for the cameras as a paragon of virtue. Of course, everyone knows he’s just messing with his nemesis, Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, whose job Odom wants. Naifeh and Lt. Ronnie Shirley are friends.
As much fun as we’re having watching the show, though, we have to admit it’s a little light in the news department. What we’ve learned so far is that there are a lot of scumbags hanging around at the Capitol. And the sun rises in the east.
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Naming Names: TNGOP and Democratic Leader Want To Know Whose Info Was Accessed By Politically Connected Trooper
Posted on August 17, 2008 at 4:49 pmThe Tennessee Republican Party joins Democratic state House Majority Leader Gary Odom in requesting an investigation into the developing scandal surrounding unauthorized background checks made by a state trooper with a political history. The Party believes that records may have been accessed for political purposes:
It seems there is was not a coincidence that the information about Oak Hill City Manager, Dr. William Kraus, was released publicly about his background immediately after the citizens of Oak Hill challenged Governor Phil Bredesen on the waste of taxpayer money to build an underground entertainment facility at the Executive Residence.
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