Post by Shuftin on Dec 29, 2006 6:23:46 GMT -5
December 21, 2006
By MATT LAKIN
2006-12-21 KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – A 33-year law enforcement career ended in retirement instead of firing Wednesday for a former commander of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The THP had fired Lt. Larry Wendell Rucker, 56, of Morristown last month after his wife accused him of beating her up. Rucker appealed the firing but dropped the appeal after agreeing to retire, THP records show.
Rucker had been on sick leave since March. His retirement took effect Wednesday.
The retirement will allow him to collect his pension, along with payment for any outstanding vacation or sick leave. That amount, which wasn't available Wednesday, will be based on his salary in the last five years of service, THP spokesman Mike Browning said.
THP placed Rucker on paid leave Aug. 30, three days after his estranged wife, Kathy, told Morristown police he yanked her hair, knocked her down, punched her and stomped her stomach during a late-night argument at his home on Berkeley Drive.
The couple separated in January, but the wife said she wanted to "work it out." He flew into a jealous rage instead, she said.
"When the suspect saw that another man had been talking to her, he went crazy," Morristown police Officer David Fowler wrote in a report.
Rucker told THP Internal Affairs investigators that his wife fell and bruised herself, then lied about being beaten. He couldn't be reached Wednesday.
Police never charged Rucker in the case. The department closed the probe after police said the wife repeatedly snubbed investigators.
She talked to THP investigators, records show. That investigation led to Rucker's firing Nov. 1.
"Your credibility as a law enforcement officer has been seriously undermined," Col. Mike Walker, commander of the THP, wrote in a letter of termination.
Rucker joined the THP in 1973 after serving with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. He patrolled in counties around East Tennessee, served as head of the THP's Internal Affairs Division and in 2004 became a lieutenant colonel, the agency's second-highest rank.
Rucker served briefly as THP commander in 2005 when Col. Lynn Pitts resigned. He was demoted to lieutenant in March after claims surfaced of political favoritism.
Later, he and another demoted officer asked Gov. Phil Bredesen to return their campaign contributions.
www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_5228008,00.html
By MATT LAKIN
2006-12-21 KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – A 33-year law enforcement career ended in retirement instead of firing Wednesday for a former commander of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The THP had fired Lt. Larry Wendell Rucker, 56, of Morristown last month after his wife accused him of beating her up. Rucker appealed the firing but dropped the appeal after agreeing to retire, THP records show.
Rucker had been on sick leave since March. His retirement took effect Wednesday.
The retirement will allow him to collect his pension, along with payment for any outstanding vacation or sick leave. That amount, which wasn't available Wednesday, will be based on his salary in the last five years of service, THP spokesman Mike Browning said.
THP placed Rucker on paid leave Aug. 30, three days after his estranged wife, Kathy, told Morristown police he yanked her hair, knocked her down, punched her and stomped her stomach during a late-night argument at his home on Berkeley Drive.
The couple separated in January, but the wife said she wanted to "work it out." He flew into a jealous rage instead, she said.
"When the suspect saw that another man had been talking to her, he went crazy," Morristown police Officer David Fowler wrote in a report.
Rucker told THP Internal Affairs investigators that his wife fell and bruised herself, then lied about being beaten. He couldn't be reached Wednesday.
Police never charged Rucker in the case. The department closed the probe after police said the wife repeatedly snubbed investigators.
She talked to THP investigators, records show. That investigation led to Rucker's firing Nov. 1.
"Your credibility as a law enforcement officer has been seriously undermined," Col. Mike Walker, commander of the THP, wrote in a letter of termination.
Rucker joined the THP in 1973 after serving with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. He patrolled in counties around East Tennessee, served as head of the THP's Internal Affairs Division and in 2004 became a lieutenant colonel, the agency's second-highest rank.
Rucker served briefly as THP commander in 2005 when Col. Lynn Pitts resigned. He was demoted to lieutenant in March after claims surfaced of political favoritism.
Later, he and another demoted officer asked Gov. Phil Bredesen to return their campaign contributions.
www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_5228008,00.html