North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue had tough talk yesterday about a spate of behavioral problems at the state highway patrol, saying she will have no tolerance for troopers who drive drunk, have sex on duty or assault women, reports the Raleigh News & Observer. She said that all troopers will get ethics training and sign a code of conduct. The governor stood steadfastly by the agency’s commander, Col. Randy Glover.
Perdue assigned Glover and Secretary of Crime Control Reuben Young to provide her with a plan within 60 days to restructure the patrol’s leadership, which she said had become too concentrated in the state capital. Recent problem troopers include a major who resigned after sending sexually explicit text messages; a captain fired for drunken driving; a sergeant fired for abusing his canine partner; a trooper who resigned after a charges of drunken driving and felony hit and run; and others dismissed or forced to resign for shooting a cat, lying in court, and being investigated in the sexual assault of a motorist.