Patrol spokesman Lt. Tony Bradshaw said it's the first time in the law-enforcement agency's 75-year history that so many officers have been let go at once.

The patrol said the three sergeants and eight troopers from the Canton post and one Wooster trooper cheated on a certification exam for administering breath tests to determine the level of alcohol in suspected drunken drivers.

The troopers were placed on paid leave last month, and the patrol recommended their dismissal. They were fired Monday when Ohio Public Safety Director Henry Guzman agreed. The issue was whether a trooper supplied others with test answers.

Bradshaw said the officers may appeal to an arbitrator.

Herschel Sigall, the general counsel at the Ohio State Troopers Association, insisted that some of those fired never cheated on the test and said that he expects most of the troopers to file grievances.

Some drunken driving cases involving the fired officers could be reopened.