Governor Branstad gets away with endangering the public while a state trooper, Larry Hedlund, is put on administrative leave for doing his job.
A state vehicle carrying Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds was clocked at 17 miles over the speed limit, setting off a dangerous 3-vehicle chase. Larry Hedlund, who reported the speeding car, was put on leave after writing a formal complaint about the incident, after the car was not pulled over because Governor Branstad was the passenger.
Read more in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, The Des Moines Register
Desmoinesregister.com posted video from the dashboard camera of the trooper who pursued the governor’s SUV but then “broke off after figuring out that it’s the governor’s vehicle.”
The story is also getting some national attention: Washington Post Huffington Post
Here’s a clip that aired Saturday on MSNBC’s Up! With Steve Kornacki.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640
Blog For Iowa 
From his initial defensive statements (had to get to a meeting, didn’t know what speed he was going,) to later ones (the firing was the right thing to do), I’d say that Terry Branstad THINKS he’s above the law.
That, right there, should give Iowans time for a pause.
The 25-yr police veteran was fired because he used a state vehicle one day, had no other disciplinary incidents…. and a FIRING is seen as proportional justice?
Who was in control of Branstad’s vehicle? Why no speeding citation or consequence.
A governor who sees no problem with this law-breaking may also have a hard time seeing other right/wrong issues.
LikeLike