Police officers have essential jobs. They keep people safe from dangerous crime and help enforce traffic rules with traffic stops. However, as with all professions, some police officers use their positions to do wrong. This came to light recently when a Tennessee police trooper quit before being terminated and has now lost his license. 

The police officer made false and “ghost” traffic stops and broke several laws

According to WSMV, Dustin Cotton recently sat before the Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission to defend why he should keep his license. For context, Dustin was a Tennessee state trooper until April of this year, when he left the job before the agency could fire him for “ghost” traffic stops and other violations. 

Regarding the false traffic stops, Dustin is said to have run license plates to make it look like he stopped drivers. However, in reality, he never actually stopped them. When the commission asked about this, Dustin said, “I can’t think of a certain time that I have, but I’m sure I have.” 

The former trooper did remember conducting “false” traffic stops on his friends. Notably, a couple of these stops were parts of marriage proposals. He also recalls doing this on some of his friends for amusement. Dustin says, “[he] made previous traffic stops on his ‘buddies’ with no intention of enforcement action, simply because it was funny to him.”

He then said one of the “false” traffic stops was over one of his friends driving without a seatbelt. However, he had no intention of issuing a citation or written warning. According to him, “I don’t feel like anything I’ve done is ethically wrong, morally wrong, or illegal.”

There were other issues with Dustin

However, there are other issues beyond traffic stops. The commission found instances of him texting while driving and using social media during patrol. There were also times when he was found to be speeding. He even reached 90 miles per hour on some occasions. Notably, he wasn’t speeding to get to an emergency. 

They again asked if he had done anything illegal, and Dustin answered, “No.” Someone then asked, “Is it illegal to go 90 miles an hour in the city limits of Franklin?” He responded, “You know, I have to withdraw that statement because that is definitely illegal, and I agree with you.”

It also came to light that Dustin ignored several subpoenas to appear in court after arresting a driver for DUI. In the end, the commission voted to decertify the disgraced trooper.