Governor Pete Ricketts has fired the head of the Nebraska State Patrol and placed six other employees on paid administrative leave after an investigation found “inappropriate conduct” by senior staffers.
Ricketts announced Friday that he had fired Col. Brad Rice as the patrol’s superintendent.
He says a state investigator has turned over his findings to the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office, but declined to discuss in detail what the review found.
He says the review found evidence of interference in internal investigations.
Ricketts ordered a review of the patrol’s policies and procedures following criticism of how the patrol handled an October fatal crash in Sheridan County that involved a trooper.
Ricketts says he has appointed Major Russ Stanczyk as the patrol’s interim director.
AP
