Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Eugene Meyer says State Trooper Rod Hicok of Webster City will be suspended for 30 days and attend a training program after sending a questionable e-mail from a state computer. Meyer said that Sergeant Hicok has been with the State Patrol for 27 years.
Prior to this incident, his record was unblemished with not a single complaint filed against him. The investigation shows Hicok was at home and off-duty when he forwarded the inappropriate e-mail from a state-issued laptop computer. Meyer further stated that Hicok was making a political statement and not a racial statement but regardless he violated the state Public Safety Department’s e-mail policy.
The e-mail in question pertains to jail mug shots of people wearing Barack Obama t-shirts. In a written statement today, Hicok said he is deeply sorry for his actions and apologized to all members of the Department of Public Safety for any embarrassment that he caused to his family, the citizens of the community and the Iowa taxpayers.