Gov. Phil Bredesen praised a state Department of Safety probe on Thursday that led to this week's firing of a Highway Patrol officer, saying the investigation into the officer's unauthorized background checks was handled well and showed the agency's ability to police itself.
Bredesen called the recommendation for Lt. Ronnie Shirley's termination a "proper, measured response" to the findings of the ongoing probe, and said he had confidence in Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell.
"He's trying very hard and this was a difficult one, and I think he's working his way through it. I really believe that when we get all done, the public will be satisfied that this was handled in a very appropriate way," he said.
On Wednesday, Mitchell and Highway Patrol Col. Mike Walker announced that Shirley had been recommended for termination for running background checks on 182 Tennesseans, many of them women, using four state databases. The checks were conducted between October 2006 and early July.
A phone message left at Shirley's home was not immediately returned. His attorney did not immediately return a call or e-mail seeking comment.
Bredesen acknowledged criticism leveled at his administration over the decision not to turn over the investigation to an outside agency, such as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Until a recent housecleaning, the patrol has long been known as a hotbed of politics and cronyism with a history of turning a blind eye to wrongdoing by troopers and officers.
Bredesen likened the internal probe to teaching responsibility to a teenage child, calling the case "a hot one" that the department needed to show that it could handle.
Yet, many questions go unanswered. Who was pulling the strings of Lt. Shirley?
UPDATE:
Stacey Campfield shares his thoughts.
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