 Governor Ted Strickland |
 Director Henry Guzman |
 Colonel Richard H. Collins |
Patrol head now says he's OK with order to report to attorney
Saturday, January 17, 2009 3:08 AM
By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Some State Highway Patrol officers have expressed fears that a directive from Ohio's public-safety director could delay or derail criminal investigations of troopers and other state employees.
In one recent case, patrol officials disobeyed the order from Henry Guzman, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
His directive requires the patrol to consult Guzman's top attorney before beginning criminal probes of public-safety employees so the "appropriate direction" of investigations can be discussed.
The July 29 memo says the review also is intended to allow Guzman and the office of Gov. Ted Strickland to have input into investigations. It also requires meetings about how best to present criminal cases to prosecutors.
E-mails obtained by The Dispatch show that the order alarmed some patrol officials. Staff Lt. Richard Baron denounced it last month as an illegal "attempt to hinder or delay the performance of a law enforcement investigation."
However, Col. Richard Collins, patrol superintendent, said yesterday that he and Guzman are "on the same page now" regarding the directive.
After some initial worries about affecting relationships with prosecutors, Collins said, the intent of the order has been clarified. "Any concern that we have has been taken care of," he said.
As public-safety director, Guzman said he is "entitled to be apprised of any and all activities" of the patrol, and his directive could strengthen criminal cases by providing more review. It does not block prosecutions, he said.
Joshua Engel, Department of Public Safety chief legal counsel, defended Guzman's order, writing that it confers no authority to either approve or kill criminal investigations of public-safety employees.
Engel wrote in a Dec. 24 memo that the "lawful order that must be followed" is consistent with the practice of civilian oversight of law-enforcement personnel by elected officials and their appointees. The attorney general's office also agreed that the directive was proper, said public-safety spokesman Tom Hunter.
Records, including Engel's memo, show that Maj. Robert Booker, commander of the patrol's Office of Investigative Services, had concerns about the policy.
On Dec. 22, Staff Lt. Rodney Tyler, a member of Booker's staff, wrote: "I think this is nothing more than (an attempt by) Engel and others to take over" the patrol. "If it isn't broke, why fix it?"
Guzman said "folks below me and below (Collins) were working through the process" about his order and that there was no dispute between him and the patrol superintendent.
Two former leaders of the State Highway Patrol criticized Guzman's directive.
The ordered review "might certainly lead to the perception of a biased, or at the very least, less than objective investigation," said Kenneth Morckel, a former patrol superintendent who later became state public-safety director.
Tom Rice, a retired patrol superintendent and former Columbus public-safety director, said the order creates the "appearance of impropriety. It could raise questions of political interference in the patrol's responsibility to investigate crimes."
In recent e-mails, Engel expressed frustration with the patrol's refusal to follow Guzman's order. The patrol launched an investigation of a trooper and then presented a criminal case to a prosecutor without honoring the directive. The Dispatch is not identifying the trooper, who is on paid leave, because he has not been charged.
Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said the governor's wrongdoing policy already required that the governor's office be notified of alleged illegal activity by state employees.