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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Ind. Law - "Trooper resigns after Facebook controversy"

Bob Segal of Indianapolis Ch. 13 Eyewitness News reports:

For more than two months, State Police have been investigating officer Chris Pestow for what he posted on Facebook. The state trooper used the Internet site to publicly brag of heavy drinking, to post photos of his banged-up police car, and to show another police officer holding a gun to his head. That was just the beginning. But Wednesday, it resulted in the end of a career for this ISP officer.

Trooper Pestow resigned Wednesday.

State Police tell 13 Investigates top commanders were prepared to announce punishment for Pestow any day. And the state trooper was likely going to be fired.

ISP Major Carlos Pettiford says Pestow was well aware of what was in store. "He had a pretty good idea, yes," Major Pettiford said. "I believe the superintendent was going to give a pretty stiff discipline. Office Pestow chose to resign instead of withstanding that particular discipline."

ISP says it confirmed what 13 Investigates discovered. The state trooper was posting on his Facebook page late at night while on duty. He faced internal charges including violating department policy, improper use of department equipment and four violations of conduct unbecoming an officer.

Still, beneath all the controversial comments and photos, State Police say it was the trooper's questionable judgement that forced them to take action. It all might have been avoided if only the officer had decided not to post all the material on the Internet.

"This is a very serious issue. (It's) very serious as you can tell officer Pestow chose to resign. If you don't want to see it on the 11:00 news, don't put it on your Facebook page, " Pettiford said.

Ealier ILB entries have involved high school students' Facebook and MySpace postings.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 18, 2009 08:38 AM
Posted to Indiana Law