Alleges retaliation for attempts to organize union
JARED MILLER Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 12:00 am
CHEYENNE -- A state trooper who was fired this month might have been targeted for his efforts to create a law enforcement labor organization, according to a group that represents 40,000 troopers across the country.
Wyoming State Trooper Benjamin Peech was notifiedon Oct.9 of his dismissal from the Highway Patrol after about 10 years of service for alleged "covert" actions Peech took before an April 7 traffic stop, and past discipline issues, said Dennis Hallion, chairman of the National Troopers Coalition.
But Hallion said the timing of the firing -- just as Peech was exploring ways to organize the troopers -- reveals the true intentions of Wyoming Highway Patrol administrators.
"This reeks of a smokescreen to cover the (Wyoming Highway Patrol) administration's effort to coerce Ben … to cease attempts to pursue organizing," Hallion said Tuesday.
Wyoming Department of Transportation Director John Cox, in a written statement, strongly denied thatrecent personnel actions involving Peech were improperly motivated.
"As director of the department, I can state without reserve that the action being taken with regard to Trooper Peech is not in any way related to his activity as a member or office-holder of the Wyoming Highway Patrol Association, and is wholly based upon careful consideration of facts that ultimately may come to public light under the personnel process designed to protect the rights of Trooper Peech," Cox said in the statement.
Cox declined to comment about the specifics of the case, citing confidentiality rules.
Peech, who is president of the Wyoming Highway Patrol Association, has been exploring avenues for organization under proposed federal legislation called the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007, Hallion said.
If the legislation becomes law, it would make it easier for law enforcement officers to form union-like organizations, Hallion said.
"As president of his organization, he was fulfilling his duties, his obligation, to try to get the best benefits, the best working conditions, for his workers," Hallion said.
In an effort to stop that work, Hallion alleges, Highway Patrol administrators created bogus charges related to the April 7 traffic stop that resulted in the seizure of $3.3 million in cash.
"This is unique," Hallion said. "You don't find an administration going to these lengths to prohibit a trooper from pursuing what would normally be considered a right to join and engage in concerted activities that are protected under the Constitution.
"It just reeks of intimidation, cohesion, threats to make this trooper cease and desist his actions, which we find unconscionable," Hallion added.
Peech instigated the April 7 traffic stop when he pulled over two men, Rusty Boschee of Elk Grove, Calif., and a passenger, for traveling 79 mph in a 75 mph zone on Interstate 80.
The traffic stop was initially reported as a routine traffic stop. Actually, Hallion said, Peech was working in collaboration with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
A search of Boschee's Dodge pickup turned up suitcases containing roughly $3.3 million and five cell phones. Neither Burns nor Boschee claimed ownership of the cash, but they said the rightful owner would be unhappy if it was not delivered.
The two were eventually released, and Boschee has since asked that the money be returned.
Hallion said Highway Patrol administrators have accused Peech of bad judgment related to the "alleged covert manner" in which he carried out the traffic stop.
Hallion described the allegations against Peech as "minor errors" that would not warrant his dismissal after a "dedicated, honorable career."
"We urge Ben to utilize all the areas of appeals to bring vindication to himself and his organization," Hallion said in his written statement.
State employee policy gives Peech the right to challenge his dismissal. During the appeals process, he is suspended with pay.
Peech has hired Denver attorney Sean Olson to represent him in his appeal.
Olson declined to comment on the details of the case, as well as the allegations by the National Troopers Coalition.
"At this point in time, we'd rather allow the official process to play out before injecting ourselves into any public debate," said Olson, adding that Peech maintains his post as president of the Wyoming Highway Patrol Association.
This is not the first time Peech has come under fire for his actions related to a major I-80 bust.
Peech was accused of using improper questioning techniques during a 2003 traffic stop that eventually netted 5 pounds of marijuana from Kevin Francis O'Boyle, who was also pulled over for going 79 mph in a 75 mph zone and consented to a vehicle search.
O'Boyle appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court, which determined in 2005 that Peech's questions during the stop -- including what college O'Boyle's son was attending and the college mascot -- were too wide-ranging.
As a result, the high court allowed O'Boyle to withdraw his guilty plea. The far-reaching ruling also prompted the dismissal of at least four other felony criminal cases in the state.
However, U.S. District Judge William F. Downes in 2006 contradicted the state Supreme Court decision, concluding that Peech's questions were within the law.
Reach capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@casperstartribune.net.