Sunday, August 24, 2008

Trooper Ran Background Check on Reporter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — "A Nashville newspaper reporter was on a list of people believed to have been the subjects of unauthorized background checks performed by a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer.

The reporter, Brad Schrade, covers the highway patrol for the Tennessean. Schrade says he received a call Saturday morning from a highway patrol investigator who said Lt. Ronnie Shirley had accessed Schrade's background information.

The Tennessean reports that the agent who contacted the reporter is one of a team of officers who are calling people on the list about unauthorized checks.

Tennessean Editor Mark Silverman questioned whether Shirley's actions were condoned by his supervisors.

Schrade reported on the internal investigation on Aug. 12. Shirley has been placed on administrative leave."

I go through spurts in posting on cops gone bad. Tough to flit from hither to yon, then back again when hither is feeling lonesome. As long as lonesome doesn't mind, it isn't a problem, but thats not important now. Fact of the matter is, you could run a dozen blogs like David Codrea's War on Guns and still not begin to scratch the surface of peace officer malfeasance. I've said time and again that you can win all you want in the courts but if the cops remain an entity unto themselves it won't matter. They've far too much authority, and have given new meaning to total power corrupting totally. Even Conservative minded judges fall for the whining and moaning and incessant over-all bitching from law enforcement, and at the end of the day believe them to be a necessary evil.

And make no mistake, that's what modern police departments have become. An evil we're forced to live with. For the time being.

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