Trooper's bias gets all ticketed cases dropped

DWI Cases of a North Carolina State Trooper tainted by his tendency to quiz women about personal lives when he stopped them for investigation gets his cases dropped. The officer

In an August, 2007, case involving a female driver, Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens rebuked the officer for “unacceptable" behavior while carrying out his police duties. Stephens threw out charges against a woman whom Harrison had charged with driving while impaired.

That case opened the way for others the officer handled to be thrown out due to his behavior towards female drivers.

News & Observer
August 20, 2007
Staff Reports

Trooper's DWI cases tossed

Wake prosecutors dropped driving while impaired charges today against drivers who were ticketed by a state trooper who was rebuked for targeting female drivers.

Scott M. Harrison was often the lone trooper patrolling Wake County overnight. He was accused of stopping women and then asking them about their personal lives.

An N.C. Highway Patrol spokesman said today that prosecutors had announced that the cases Harrison brought would not stand.

“We met with them this morning and they told us that’s what they meant to do,” said Everett Clendenin, Highway Patrol spokesman. “We support their decision and think it was the right thing to do.”

Harrison, 31, remains on administrative duty while the patrol investigates the claims of bias and an accusation that Harrison roughed up a man while processing an impaired driving suspect at the Wake County Jail.

Clendenin said the Highway Patrol expects to conclude its internal investigation soon.

On Aug. 8, Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens scolded Harrison for behavior the judge deemed “unacceptable.” Stephens threw out charges against Christina Pasive, a woman whom Harrison had charged with driving while impaired on November 10, 2005.

In an order dismissing the charge, Stephens said Harrison stopped Pasive and another woman because both were young females driving alone.

A court clerk testified that in 2006, 49 percent of the 106 people Harrison arrested for DWI were women.

Statewide, women are arrested for drunken driving at much lower rates. For example, in the 2006 fiscal year, 18 percent of all impaired driving arrests were of women, according to data from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Judge Stephens also heard testimony from Trooper Cedric Herring, who testified that Harrison had threatened to do physical harm to two lawyers representing some of the women Harrison had charged with impaired driving.

Harrison was upset that the attorneys had complained to the media about his alleged practice of targeting women for traffic stops, according to Herring's testimony.

“Such conduct of threatening to harm lawyers is not in keeping with the excellent reputation and the high standards of the North Carolina Highway Patrol,” Stephens wrote. Original article...

Staff writer David Bracken can be reached at (919) 829-4548 or david.bracken@newsobserver.com