If you didn’t already know about the investigation into accusations that THP Lieutenant Ronnie Shirley accessed a criminal database to dig up dirt on political enemies, then you haven’t watched the news or read the paper in a week.
This is the same trooper that fixed then-Deputy Governor Dave Cooley’s speeding ticket in 2004. Ever since my colleague Jennifer Johnson broke the story last Tuesday night, more and more details have come out and speculation is rampant about who is on “the list”.
Just about an hour ago, the Department of Safety held a news conference to disclose preliminary findings of its investigation. I was not there (Jennifer is handling it for our 5 and 6 newscasts), but I did get the news release about it. Here are the details:
-Lt. Shirley accessed 182 names on the database from Oct. 19, 2006 to July 3, 2008.
-Lt. Shirley accessed some private driver license information, including photos and driver history.
-He accessed one sex offender registry
-Lt. Shirley made six inquiries on the database of convicted criminals.
-Accessed some vehicle registration and license information.
According to the news release, none of these are considered to be a criminal history check.
