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GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- A state police standards panel has voted to revoke the law enforcement certification of a former Nebraska state trooper who had joined a white supremacy group associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
The 6-0 vote by the Nebraska Police Standards Advisory Council late Wednesday in the case of former trooper Robert Henderson of Omaha now goes to the State Crime Commission.
The council's ruling, which was announced today, was based on neglect of duty and emotional incapacity, according to Bill Muldoon, the director of the state law enforcement training center.
The crime commission, in November, will review the decision and will decide whether to affirm it.
The standards council is made up of seven law enforcement officials from across the state. One council member, Lt. Col. David Sankey, recused himself from the hearing because he works for the State Patrol, which fired Henderson in 2006.
That decision sparked a lengthy legal battle which culminated this February when the Nebraska Supreme Court, in a 4-2 ruling, upheld the firing. The court majority ruled that joining a hate group violated the clearly articulated aims of the state Constitution, which is to ensure that laws are enforced without prejudice.
While he cannot work for the Patrol again, Henderson, 52, wants to retain his law enforcement certificate so he can work for other agencies in Nebraska.
At a hearing before the council on Wednesday, Henderson said he made a "stupid" mistake when he joined in 2004 the Knights Party, an affiliate of the KKK, but that his action was an isolated incident that had not affected his on-job performance.
He said he joined the group after becoming angry and frustrated after his wife left him for a Hispanic man. Henderson said he posted messages a year later on the Knights website under the name "White Knight" after he became angry with an order from his superiors at the Patrol.
They ordered him to not issue a ticket against a black television newscaster in Omaha, who Henderson said deserved a ticket because he had ignored the requirements of a previous warning ticket.
Tom Stine of the Nebraska Attorney General's Office had urged the council on Wednesday to revoke Henderson's law enforcement certificate.
Stine said that joining the Knights Party was no mistake, and that the Supreme Court was very clear in stating that someone cannot wear a badge and hold membership in the KKK without seriously damaging the reputation of the State Patrol.
The attorney noted that Henderson had remained a member of the Knights Party for nearly two years, and didn't quit until the day before he faced a disciplinary hearing at the Patrol.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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