N.C. State Highway Patrol commander tells ‘lazy’ troopers to write more tickets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A commander with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol wants his troopers to write more speeding tickets.

In an email sent at the start of the year, Cpt. Neil Denman emailed troopers he oversees in Troop G to write more speeding tickets.

Troop G is headquartered in Asheville and covers most of western North Carolina, from Rutherford County to Avery County to Cherokee County.

Denman’s email focused on the low number of tickets written in 2020 and told supervisors in the troop they would be held accountable if the output didn’t improve.

“As you can see by the numbers most members are not putting forth any enforcement effort and district supervisors are not holding their feet to the fire,” the email said. “In the coming weeks that is going to change.”

Statewide, the NCSHP wrote 60,000 fewer tickets in 2020 than in previous years, which means a significant drop off in ticket revenue for the state and state court system.

“It is time that Troop G gets back to work and the lazy troopers start earning their pay,” Denman said at the end of his missive.

In a statement, NCSHP spokesman First Sergeant Christopher Knox said troopers have a responsibility to save lives through enforcement and education measures.

Specifically, Knox said North Carolina saw an increase in impaired driving and speeding on state highways, which led to an increase in deadly accidents in 2020.

“The purpose of the provided email was to motivate and energize those under his command as well as re-focus and re-address the agency’s mission of preserving and protecting human life,” Knox said.

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