WRTV's Jack Rinehart has a
rather strange story about a member of the Capitol police assigned to provide security at the Governor's residence resigning after a co-worker accused him of sleeping on the job and rummaging through Governor Mitch Daniels' personal belongings, including the governor's and his wife's underwear. Officer Bradley Craig tells Rinehart he was retaliated against and reassigned after he blew the whistle on Officer Mike Bates' antics, and State Police say a criminal investigation has been launched against the two officers:
Allegations of sleeping on the job and rifling through personal items at the Indiana governor's residence are among the lurid details of a scandal embroiling Capitol police, the unit of the Indiana State Police that guards state buildings and the governor.
State police told 6News' Jack Rinehart on Tuesday they have launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
Capitol police Officer Bradley Craig originally leveled the allegations against a former co-worker, Mike Bates, in a resignation letter Craig sent Saturday to Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell . . .
Craig said he decided to resign after he felt the previous incidents he reported to a supervisor went unheeded. Craig also detailed an additional incident on April 3, when he claimed that Bates went into the governor's bedroom and began opening drawers, first pulling out a pair of men's underwear and making inappropriate comments about them.
Then, Craig said, Bates opened another drawer, pulling out women's underwear and sniffing them, remarking, "You should have been up here when their daughter used to live here … I kept me a pair of hers."
Craig said he reported numerous other issues, including a claim that his co-worker slept on the job during shifts in which the two worked together.
"He has slept a minimum of two hours, but usually averages five to six hours every shift," Craig claimed.
Craig recounted another incident in which he claimed Bates had taken a shower while on the job at the governor's residence, along with a couple of additional instances in which he claimed Bates ate food from the refrigerator.
Craig said Bates also left his post while on duty, essentially leaving no security at the residence, which Craig said he discovered when he arrived early for his shift.
Here's a statement issued by ISP on the criminal investigation that has been launched:
"This investigation alleges one or both former officers may have intruded upon personal property located in the official state residence for the governor of Indiana," Bursten said in a news release. "Members of the Capitol police are placed in positions of great responsibility that require the highest level of integrity. Allegations of this nature are taken very serious and will be thoroughly investigated."
In his defense, Craig issued the following statement following his resignation after he was reassigned duties:
"I believe I am being retaliated against for blowing the whistle and being punished for doing the right thing," Craig said in the resignation letter. "I reported a serious violation, and now I'm the one who gets reassigned for doing so."
And I thought they were selective about who got these cushy assignments.
