The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating allegations of a trooper watching YouTube videos on his official in-car laptop while driving. Lee County Florida resident James Peebles caught the alleged offender during his morning commute in early April, NBC2 reported. After exiting I-75, Peebles said that the FHP cruiser rolled up next to him at a stop light where he could clearly see the trooper inside watching a car race on Youtube on an official FHP laptop. Peebles put his car in park and snapped a picture of the cruiser before continuing to work. Later that day, he posted the photo to Facebook where it quickly went viral.
"It blew my mind," Peebles told NBC2. "Everybody's human though, so I do know that we all make mistakes."
NBC2 contacted the FHP for a statement after speaking to Peebles. An FHP spokesperson told the station that troopers are allowed to use their laptops while driving squad cars when carrying out official duties such as "simple inquiries" and "reviewing the nature of incoming messages".
Other Florida motorists, like Jim Kosmerick who was interviewed by NBC2 for this story, don't consider watching an old race on YouTube to be official FHP business.
"It's not official business, there's no way you can convince me otherwise," said Kosmerick.
The FHP says that they are now aware of this fast moving viral image, and that they are taking the issue very seriously. They state that an investigation into the matter is underway, and that troopers are expected to abide by department policy and lead by example.
Related Video
"It blew my mind," Peebles told NBC2. "Everybody's human though, so I do know that we all make mistakes."
NBC2 contacted the FHP for a statement after speaking to Peebles. An FHP spokesperson told the station that troopers are allowed to use their laptops while driving squad cars when carrying out official duties such as "simple inquiries" and "reviewing the nature of incoming messages".
Other Florida motorists, like Jim Kosmerick who was interviewed by NBC2 for this story, don't consider watching an old race on YouTube to be official FHP business.
"It's not official business, there's no way you can convince me otherwise," said Kosmerick.
The FHP says that they are now aware of this fast moving viral image, and that they are taking the issue very seriously. They state that an investigation into the matter is underway, and that troopers are expected to abide by department policy and lead by example.
Related Video
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue