This Guy's A Real Trooper
February 5, 2010 2:38 PM | permalink
A dumb move by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper has left him on the wrong side of the law.
Prosecutors say Paul C. Lawrence, pictured, issued hundreds of bogus tickets to unsuspecting drivers in an effort to boost his numbers to the bosses. He allegedly used information from drivers he had stopped in the past to draft new fake tickets.
Authorities became suspicious when dozens of ticketed drivers started to lose their licenses and complain they didn’t know anything about the citations. Many were able to prove that they were somewhere else at the time.
Over 200 traffic citations Lawrence issued since November have been dismissed and the FHP has set-up a central hotline for people filing complaints regarding phony tickets.
Lawrence, 38, is charged with 22 counts of official misconduct. He has been put on administrative duty pending termination.
The FHP says their officers do not work on a quota system.
Ok, Dumb Blogger dumb question #1: Did Lawrence really think he wasn’t going to get caught?
Dumb Blogger dumb question #2: If the FHP doesn’t work on a quota system, why would Lawrence draft fake tickets?
Authorities became suspicious when dozens of ticketed drivers started to lose their licenses and complain they didn’t know anything about the citations. Many were able to prove that they were somewhere else at the time.
Over 200 traffic citations Lawrence issued since November have been dismissed and the FHP has set-up a central hotline for people filing complaints regarding phony tickets.
Lawrence, 38, is charged with 22 counts of official misconduct. He has been put on administrative duty pending termination.
The FHP says their officers do not work on a quota system.
Ok, Dumb Blogger dumb question #1: Did Lawrence really think he wasn’t going to get caught?
Dumb Blogger dumb question #2: If the FHP doesn’t work on a quota system, why would Lawrence draft fake tickets?
Posted by Tara Lipinsky
