Highway Patrol leader quits

An investigation found that Col. Christopher A. Knight falsified a record.

By JACOB H. FRIES, Times Staff Writer
Published September 19, 2007

The director of the Florida Highway Patrol has resigned after a six-month investigation found he was negligent in his duties and falsified an office memo.
	[Courtesy of Florida High Patrol]

The director of the Florida Highway Patrol has resigned after a six-month investigation found he was negligent in his duties and falsified an office memo.

Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement looked into several allegations against Col. Christopher A. Knight, including reports that he discriminated against minorities. They couldn't substantiate most of the claims or determined they were unfounded.

Knight, 50, a 26-year veteran who took over the agency in 2001, offered his resignation Monday. He was asked to do so by Electra Theodorides-Bustle, executive director of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which oversees the Highway Patrol.

FDLE investigators found Knight had written a memo in 2006, recalling a conversation three years earlier, and then dated the memo in 2003, according to a 37-page report released Tuesday. Investigators concluded he had falsified the record and acted negligently by failing to disclose that the memo was based on his recollection years later.

It was unclear Tuesday whether his actions constituted a crime or would impact his pension.

"It is matter that will have to be reviewed by our general counsel," said Julie Baker, a DHSMV spokeswoman. "Preliminarily, it doesn't look like this is a criminal violation, but an administrative code and policy violation."

Knight, in a 30-minute phone interview Tuesday, took responsibility for putting the wrong date on the memo but said it wasn't done with intent or malice. He said he was simply recalling Trooper James Darby's complaints about Maj. Rebecca Tharpe, whom Knight terminated last year, as the agency prepared for Tharpe's discrimination lawsuit.

Darby told state investigators he never complained about Tharpe, as purported in Knight's memo. Investigators were not able to resolve the conflicting accounts.

"There was nothing for me to benefit," Knight said. "The memo that was generated was for the department, not for Chris Knight."

Knight, who joined the agency in 1981 after graduating from Florida State University, said he had become unpopular with some employees because of his firing of Tharpe, the highest ranked woman in the agency.

"I became their target," he said.

Gov. Charlie Crist weighed in Tuesday.

"I think that Bustle has acted with good judgment, and I think the former head of the state troopers did the right thing by resigning," he said.

Ryan Barack, one of Tharpe's lawyers who filed a federal lawsuit in January, said he considered Knight's resignation vindication for Tharpe's suit. The case is still pending.

"Knight's got a problem with women," he said. "And Tharpe was perceived as a threat to the good old boy network."

While FDLE investigators could not corroborate any of the other allegations leveled against Knight, they offered several recommendations for the Highway Patrol. Among them: develop a transparent promotion process, remind employees that retaliation is prohibited and improve disciplinary guidelines.

Lt. Col. John Czernis has been appointed interim director of the Highway Patrol in Knight's absence. Czernis, 53, is a 30-year veteran, having served in a variety of positions within the agency.

Staff writer Steve Bousquet and researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Jacob H. Fries can be reached at jfries@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8872.

[Last modified September 19, 2007, 00:11:59]