Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Did Palin Family Feud Affect Troopers?

By Jason Leopold
September 2, 2008

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s vendetta against the state trooper who divorced her sister may have spilled over into a broader retaliation against Alaska’s police with more than $2 million slashed from their budget as well as the elimination of temporary staff positions and the firing of the public safety commissioner, according to police representatives.

Read on.
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4 comments:

Unknown said...

I don't know for sure about the troopers being affected but it sure sounds like it. One other thing jumps out at you though, she is the perfect running mate for John McShame, vindictive, 1/2 truths, inuendo, pressure, and never a straight answer. Ms. Palin does the Rethuglican party proud. I also think that her little daughter is kind of like 'garbage in garbage out' with someone being brought up in a household that seems to be without direction with the exception of mis-direction. Best of luck to the Rethuglicans.

Tue Sep 02, 03:25:00 PM 2008
Anonymous said...

First, Mr. Leopold, it's astounding that you base your article on some pretty flimsy research -- and your choice of words is revealing, just a few examples:

may have spilled over...

Law enforcement and police union officials, who requested anonymity before discussing the dispute

possible shelving of dozens of outstanding investigations.

appeared to be waging a vendetta

personally seemed obsessed

Palin’s opinion of Wooten appears to have darkened only after his marriage to her sister failed.

But, setting aside your flimsy reporting, it would seem that Wooten deserves to be fired! From The Anchorage Daily News:

Wooten recently gave his union permission to release the entire investigative file, all 482 pages and hours of recorded interviews.

"The record clearly indicates a serious and concentrated pattern of unacceptable and at times, illegal activity occurring over a lengthy period, which establishes a course of conduct totally at odds with the ethics of our profession," Col. Julia Grimes, then head of Alaska State Troopers, wrote in March 1, 2006, letter suspending Wooten for 10 days. After the union protested it, the suspension was reduced to five days.


She warned that if he messed up again, he'd be fired.

"This discipline is meant to be a last chance to take corrective action," Grimes wrote. "You are hereby given notice that any further occurrences of these types of behaviors or incidents will not be tolerated and will result in your termination."

It's nearly impossible to know whether other complaints have come in about Wooten in the last two years. His personnel file is confidential. But the fact he remains on the force is an indication that he hasn't had the sort of trouble that Grimes warned against.

Grimes declined to comment, as did various troopers involved in the investigation.

'... NOT WITHOUT A BLEMISH'

As the investigation got under way in 2005, Wooten was in the midst of a bitter divorce from Palin's sister, Molly McCann. The couple was fighting over custody of their two young children. Accusations flew from both sides.

Troopers eventually investigated 13 issues and found four in which Wooten violated policy or broke the law or both:

• Wooten used a Taser on his stepson.

• He illegally shot a moose.

• He drank beer in his patrol car on one occasion.

• He told others his father-in-law would "eat a f'ing lead bullet" if he helped his daughter get an attorney for the divorce.

Beyond the investigation sparked by the family, trooper commanders saw cause to discipline or give written instructions to correct Wooten seven times since he joined the force, according to Grimes' letter to Wooten.

Tue Sep 02, 06:05:00 PM 2008
Anonymous said...

Additionally, Mr. Leopold, if you do a search for state trooper and/or public safety budget cuts, you will find that across the nation, governors have been forced to slash the budgets of many state agencies (unfortunately including public safety) because of dwindling funds.

So, it would be prudent to put the Alaska State Trooper budget cuts into the proper perspective, which is that most states are in the same boat as the 49th State. They have less money.

Tue Sep 02, 06:20:00 PM 2008
Anonymous said...

"Evidently, she neither believes in family planning, nor cares about the terrible affects of unwanted teen pregnancy on her child. And sex education was out of the question, too!"

quoted from:
http://msrb.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/it-s-all-about-big-oil-stupid/

Wed Sep 03, 03:14:00 AM 2008

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