State Trooper Fired in Wake of Estranged Wife's Shooting. 4th N.C. state trooper fired for violating policies. Former state trooper admits to exposing himself. Raleigh, N.C. — A former state trooper pleaded guilty Friday to a single charge stemming from a traffic stop during which he admits to handcuffing a woman and later exposing himself.
L. Brandon Lovick, 32, who was a trooper for six years, pleaded guilty to one count of felonious restraint in connection with the May 24, 2010, traffic stop. Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens had harsh words for Lovick, saying his actions "sullied" and "stained" the work of every law enforcement officer. As part of a plea deal, Lovick was fined $5,000 and sentenced to three years of probation, including six months of intensive supervision. He must surrender his law-enforcement certification, undergo a mental health evaluation and submit to DNA testing.
The now 20-year-old woman involved in the traffic stop said that she and her family didn't want Lovick to go to jail but did want to make sure he was out of law enforcement. "He's human, and he made a terrible mistake in judgment," Crouch said in court. N.C. trooper, fired for killing cat, wants his job back. May 31, 2010 The neighbor's cat had allegedly been climbing on the trooper's car, so he trapped and shot it.
McClatchy Newspapers RALEIGH, N.C. - A North Carolina state trooper who wanted to stop animals from climbing on his vehicles trapped his neighbor's 5-month-old kitten and shot it to death. Shawn C. Houston was charged in October with cruelty to animals and injury to real property, both misdemeanors, according to court records. Houston, 39, declined to discuss his firing last week. The court filing says he was bothered by something climbing on vehicles parked at his Granite Falls, N.C., home.
Houston, who said he was concerned for the safety of his three young sons, baited a steel trap with ham and captured a small domestic cat. "The petitioner did not know if the cat had rabies or any other disease," the summary filed by Houston says. Next-door neighbor Andrea Evans said the cat's name was Rowdy. Evans said Rowdy could be mischievous. Trooper fired at the drop of a hat. RALEIGH — If you're a state trooper, losing your hat can get you in trouble.
Lying about how you lost your hat, however, can get you fired. Thomas C. Wetherington, 22, says he was treated unfairly when the N.C. Highway Patrol dismissed him in August over a lost hat, especially considering that other troopers have kept their jobs despite having sexual liaisons on duty. "Look, we've got guys having sex in patrol cars just about every day," said Wetherington, a trooper since 2007. Capt. Wetherington, the former trooper, said that on a blustery, wet night in March he pulled over a vehicle towing a large boat on U.S. 70 in Craven County. He said he heard it blow off during a strong gust, tumbling down the asphalt in the dark.
Wetherington and another trooper later returned and spent about two hours looking for his hat in the ditches along the busy four-lane highway. "I glue my tassels down," Wetherington said. NC Appeals Court upholds ruling in state trooper's firing. Court agrees: Trooper should get job back. RALEIGH, N.C. — A Superior Court judge ruled Monday that Trooper Charles Jones, who was dismissed from the North Carolina Highway Patrol in September 2007, should be reinstated with back pay and be reimbursed for his attorneys' fees.
Jones was fired after another trooper turned over two 15-second video clips of Jones suspending his K-9 partner, Ricoh, from a railing and kicking him repeatedly to force him to release a chew toy. Patrol leaders said they initially planned to discipline Jones but decided to fire him when then-Gov. Easley's office intervened. In 2008, the State Personnel Commission found his punishment too harsh and ordered that he be reinstated.
Two years later, Jones remains off the force.