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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > August > 07 > Entry
Highway patrol criticized
Flying above Interstate 70 just east of Columbus on a Sunday afternoon, state troopers clocked two motorcycles roaring along at 147 and 149 miles per hour - so fast that the pilot radioed troopers on the ground that the bikes “look like bullets coming at ya.’ “
But Trooper Bryan Lee decided against writing speeding tickets when he found out that the motorcyclists he pulled over were off duty cops, Gahanna Police Officer Christopher Thomas and state Trooper Jason Highsmith.
A 21-page report by state Inspector General Tom Charles on Friday Aug. 7 criticized Lee’s decision as well as “over analysis of the situation” by Ohio Highway Patrol managers who failed to take action for several days after the traffic stop.
Lee’s decision crawled up six levels of patrol command before the trooper was told to issue a ticket to Highsmith; Gahanna police supervisors had to insist that Thomas be ticketed as well, the report said.
The tickets were filed in Licking County Municipal Court on July 6, eight days after the June 28 traffic stop. That triggered media attention and a public outcry.
Charles found that the patrol did not try to cover up the traffic stop and the media scrutiny came only after the tickets had been issued.
Thomas, who is on medical disability leave, appeared in court this week and lost his license for six months. Highsmith, who pleaded not guilty to the traffic violation, is due in court on Monday.
The patrol wrote 23 tickets during the enforcement effort that snagged Highsmith and Thomas but no one else was traveling close to 150 miles per hour that day, the inspector general’s report said.
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