Florida Highway Trooper Wants Name Cleared in Lawmaker Ticketing Case

October 18, 2013

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper who got in trouble over giving breaks to state legislators wants an appeals court to clear his name.

An attorney for Trooper Charles Swindle said that Swindle was appealing to the 1st District Court of Appeal a ruling that Swindle deserved to get suspended.

The Florida Highway Patrol initially fired Swindle because he wrote $10 citations for no proof of insurance to two legislators instead of ticketing them for speeding. Rep. Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville, complained about the citation.

But last month the agency reinstated Swindle after a state employee panel said his case only merited a 120 hour suspension.

Swindle argued that he was carrying out a long-standing but unwritten policy of giving breaks on speeding tickets to legislators.

Topics Florida Legislation

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