Emails suggest TN Highway Patrol setting ticket quotas for troopers
Emails sent to West Tennessee state troopers indicate “what some say are quotas set by high ups at the Tennessee Highway Patrol,” reports WREG-TV of Memphis.
State trooper didn’t check inside wreck; body found later by tow truck driver
The Tennessee Highway Patrol has suspended a sergeant for two days without pay after he failed to find a man’s body in a wrecked minivan he didn’t “inspect or inventory,” reports the News Sentinel.
THP officers cleared in shooting; wounded man charged
Two Tennessee Highway Patrol officers who opened fire on a man during a traffic stop on Interstate 26 have been cleared of any wrongdoing, while the suspect they shot has been indicted by a Sullivan County grand jury, reports the Kingsport Times-News.
The shooting, which occurred Jan. 12 in Kingsport, was the subject of a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe.
True bills were returned against Richard D. Jenny, 39, of Johnson City, on two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus said that after being presented evidence collected by the TBI, the grand jury determined that the troopers, Alex Perry and Andrew Connors, were put in fear for their lives by Jenny’s alleged actions, and did not use excessive force.
“The grand jury’s finding was that Mr. Jenny pulled a pistol on them and under the circumstances they acted reasonably and appropriately,” Staubus said.
… Prior to this week’s indictments, Jenny had been released from HVMC. Earlier this week, he sought additional care at Johnson City Medical Center, where he was released and arrested on Friday…. A TBI records request about Jenny’s history revealed more than a dozen criminal charges against him over the past 20 years in Tennessee…. Offenses include domestic assault, possession of drugs for resale, theft, evading arrest and possession of a sawed-off shotgun.
TN Highway Patrol major arrested, suspended from duties
A Tennessee Highway Patrol major was arrested by Grundy County sheriff’s deputies Sunday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, according to WDEF-TV. He allegedly got into a dispute with neighbors and had to be subdued with a TASER by the arresting officers. His wife was also charged.
News release from Tennessee Highway Patrol on Monday:
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott today announced that Major Stacy Williams has been placed on discretionary leave and relieved of his official duties due to an incident that took place on Sunday, February 12 in Grundy County.
Williams, 47, will remain on discretionary leave with pay pending an investigation into allegations of conduct unbecoming for a department employee.
Major Williams has been a Tennessee state trooper since 1994. He was named Major over the THP Special Investigations Bureau in 2014.
It is the Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s policy to warn, suspend, demote or dismiss any employee whenever just or legal cause exists.
Employees shall not commit any act that would reflect discredit upon themselves or the department while on or off duty.
