Highway Patrol review in works

Whistle-blowing troopers will be protected, officials say

By TOM HUMPHREY, tomhumphrey3@aol.com
KnoxNews
December 14, 2005


NASHVILLE - Officials in Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration said Tuesday they will hire a consulting firm to review the Tennessee Highway Patrol and that troopers who report wrongdoing to a legislative committee will be protected from retaliation.
The statements from Gerald Nicely, acting commissioner of the Department of Safety, and other officials came as the Senate Transportation Committee opened hearings on reports of politicking in connection with THP promotions, the hiring of officers with criminal records and other improprieties.

Nicely and legislators on the committee said they foresee the consultants and the committee hearings leading to recommendations for legislation to reform the Highway Patrol.

Two changes in current law were discussed Tuesday: prohibiting troopers from making political contributions, as many other states already do, and making troopers subject to the same training standards and job qualification criteria that apply to other law enforcement officers.

Nicely, Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz and Deputy Personnel Commissioner Nat Johnson told the panel that plans are under way to hire Kroll Government Services Inc., a New York-based security consulting firm, to conduct a review of Highway Patrol practices.

Goetz and Jeffrey Schlanger, president of the company, signed an agreement Monday for Kroll to receive $5,500 to make a preliminary review of what is needed for a full-fledged report on THP's "organizational and management structure" and suggested changes.

Asked what the full cost would be, Goetz replied, "I think somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000. But don't hold me to that."

Michael Shmerling, a former Nashville businessman who is listed on the company Web site as head of another Kroll division, has donated at least $7,500 to Bredesen's campaigns since 2001, a review of finance disclosure records after the meeting indicated.

Lola Potter, spokeswoman for the state Department of Finance, said late Tuesday that Goetz and others involved in the contracting were unaware of the donations or of Shmerling and his ties to the firm when they discussed the contract.

Sens. Rosalind Kurita, D-Clarksville, and Jerry Cooper, D-Morrison, questioned the plan to sign up Kroll without a competitive bidding process. Goetz said the paperwork for that would take "six to eight weeks." He said the administration wants to move forward quickly.

Also, Goetz said Kroll is highly qualified, having served as a court-appointed monitor for troubled police departments in cities such as Los Angeles and Detroit. He said officials had also approached the International Association of Chiefs of Police about conducting a review, but that organization was not interested.

The association earlier this year had given an award to the Tennessee Highway Patrol as one of the best patrol operations in the nation.

Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, told Nicely that "I have been advised and believe" that troopers have been threatened with retaliation if they cooperate with the committee.

He said the threats came before Nicely was named acting commissioner last week, following the departure of former Safety Commissioner Fred Phillips and two other top officials with oversight of the Highway Patrol.

"I haven't heard anything to that effect," said Nicely, adding that the administration will cooperate with the committee and that the administration is already putting in place a system to protect whistleblowers. He said there will be no retaliation.

Norris said after the meeting that "half a dozen" troopers have approached legislators about providing information regarding misdeeds at THP. He said they have sought to remain anonymous because of fears of retaliation.

The committee plans no more meetings until next month. Bredesen named Nicely on Friday to serve as safety commissioner for 60 days.

Kurita and Cooper, the only Democrats on the Senate Transportation Committee present Tuesday, said trooper troubles go back many years. Kurita said the problems could be traced to a 1983 decision during former Gov. Lamar Alexander's administration to remove the Highway Patrol from requirements and training imposed on other law enforcement agencies by the Police Officers Standards and Training (POST) Commission.

Sheriff's deputies and city police officers in Tennessee must meet POST qualifications and training standards to be certified.

Harvey Valentine, spokesman for now-U.S. Sen. Alexander, said the senator questioned whether the Highway Patrol had ever been under the jurisdiction of the POST commission.

"That was a long time ago, but our best memory is that the THP had its own standards and service training and compensation system and was not part of the POST Commission," Valentine said after speaking with Alexander.