What's worse than driving without a license? Driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.32—the legal limit is 0.08! State troopers say they arrested a Fishkill resident Heidi Herring, who was allegedly driving drunk and without a license on Long Island early yesterday morning more ›

A 23-year-old Massapequa resident was arrested after state troopers caught him allegedly lighting a bong while driving on the Meadowbrook State Parkway. Newsday reports (subscription required), "When they pulled over the driver, identified as Vincent Deluca, they 'smelled an odor of marijuana emanating from the 2005 Chevy that Deluca was driving.'" They also found psychedelic mushrooms. Deluca was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana. more ›

Pedro Perez, the acting superintendent of the NY State Police, resigned yesterday amid an investigation into his intervening role in the domestic violence case of former Paterson aide David Johnson. He took over as chief just a week ago after Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt, also implicated in the scandal, stepped down. Perez claims he’s leaving not because he acted wrongly, but because he lacks support from the administration and his fellow officers. But Joseph Barrett, the president of the New York State Police Investigators Association, which represents detectives, says, "The position that the State Police find themselves in now is the result of the actions of a few high-ranking officers in management positions, and Acting Superintendent Perez was one of them." more ›

Following allegations that a top aide to Governor Paterson bullied an ex-girlfriend into dropping domestic abuse charges with the help of state troopers, two politicians want to keep law enforcement officials from straying again. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Eric Adams have proposed the creation of an investigative commission for "systemic misconduct, abuse of power and inappropriate political intervention" with state police. According to Adams, the problem isn't the officers but politicians who abuse their influence. "Many of our state police officers are merely trying to do their jobs. And we want to create an atmosphere where they can do their job free from intimidation, free from any political maneuvering," he said. more ›

In the wake of the NY Times' article about the Governor's and State Police's possible interference in an abuse claim against an aide to Governor Paterson, state Commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services and Deputy Secretary for Public Safety Denise O'Donnell turned in her resignation today. O'Donnell, who oversaw many agencies including the State Police, now says she was misled by about the alleged interference: Back in January, "I was assured by Superintendent Corbitt that the State Police were not involved." more ›

Is singing the N.W.A. song "F--- tha Police" the best thing to warble while hanging out a car window on a day when there are tons of police patrolling the highways? That's what Floral Park resident Sara Smith, 21, was doing when a trooper pulled over Smith's friend's car on the Southern State Parkway on July 4. Newsday reports that the trooper was told by other motorists that "Smith [was] hanging out of the passenger window of a car." When he got to the car, he "heard her shouting obscenities about the police." The State Police spokesman said that Smith "asked the trooper if he had ever heard of N.W.A."—ha!—and the trooper replied he hadn't. Then the trooper, who said the driver was "apologetic," issued Smith a summons for "disorderly conduct, including obscene language and gestures." more ›

A former FedEx worker turned state trooper is accused of writing phony speeding tickets to get back at a man he had an argument with over a parking spot. The ticketing revenge allegedly began after office Lester Hooper (pictured), an East Flatbush resident who patrols Westchester, and his wife became outraged at a neighbor, Derrick Perry, for not moving his truck back in January. more ›

Ensconced at the NJ Governor's Mansion, Drumthwacket, Governor Jon Corzine started to give extensive interviews with the media yesterday. He told the Star-Ledger how a state trooper who responded to his April 12 accident jumped on top of him to shield him from the burning SUV as other responders were trying to put out the fire. Corzine said, "Jimmy Ryan is a hero of unbelievable proportions." Ryan downplayed incident, saying, "That's what our unit does. That's what we're there for. It was a total team effort. We're all concerned about the governor's safety and it was a team effort." more ›