New Allegations About Trooper Ronnie Shirley - Cindy Carter

Governor Phil Bredesen sounds off on new allegations surrounding a Tennessee state trooper whose been in trouble before.

The trooper on the hot seat is Lieutenant Ronnie Shirley.

Shirley is accused of abusing his power by using state computers to get his hands on private information.

The Department of Safety and other Tennessee law enforcement agencies use a common data base to share information for solving crimes.

It holds personal information such as criminal history and investigation details.

Governor Phil Bredesen says he's having conversations with Department of Safety Commissioner, Dave Mitchell about charges that Lt. Shirley may have accessed that information for personal use.

Bredesen says, "When we were talking this morning, we both agreed on the same policy which is that we weren't going to let anybody off or cover anything that was wrong."

Right now these are just allegations. Nothing's been proven and Lt. Shirley remains on the job as THP's liaison to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

The charges come after a three year push to restore the Safety Department's integrity after numerous scandals including a previous ticket fixing investigation involving Lt. Shirley.

Bredesen says, "Its a very different department today than it was three years ago. I'm sure we're not over this little scandal or that little scandal. I think we're down now to individuals who may be doing things inappropriately."

Attorney David Raybin believes the THP should not be conducting their own investigation due to the ramifications this could pose if Shirley is guilty.

"This information could be used to blackmail someone. It can be used for political adversity. It can be used to embarrass people."

Raybin doesn't think THP should be conducting their own investigation into the charges.

He thinks the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation should be called in. New Allegations About Trooper Ronnie Shirley - Cindy Carter