Florida Governor Rick Scott has signed an executive order mandating that all new hires in state government pas a drug screening. For existing state employees, the executive order "would require testing of each employee 'at least quarterly'," according to the Los Angeles Times.
Drug screening for new hires is not an uncommon practice. It is also not uncommon for employees in high-risk jobs (such as people who operate heavy machinery or drive trucks) to be subject to drug tests. But is it really necessary to drug test every single employee in state government four times a year?
If this were a private sector employer, I would have less of a problem with drug testing employees, even though I would still think it is an overreach. Because this is state government, there are legitimate questions whether this policy violates the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches.
When I read about this, though, I was struck by a glaring double standard. It is reasonable to desire that the state workforce be drug free. But what about a state police officer who napped while her son brutally beat a 6-year-old child to death? Why should taxpayers be paying for her salary and benefits?
Of course, I am talking about state trooper Kathleen Grossett-Tate. Her son murdered 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick while she napped upstairs. The shocking viciousness of the beating captured the attention of the nation, and Lionel Tate was justly sent to prison. Little Tiffany was screaming and crying as she was being murdered, while the Florida state trooper yelled at her to be quiet.
There's a mother of the year candidate, right there.
The "justice" system made the abominable decision to release Tate from prison in 2004. In May of 2005, Lionel Tate committed the crime that would send him back to prison: armed robbery of a pizza delivery man. But a shocking detail of the case should raise alarms about the culture of corruption in the Florida State Police:
Lionel Tate was found to be in possession of Kathleen Grossett-Tate's missing police-issued firearm when he was arrested.
This just completely blows my mind. Here you have a monster who kicked, stomped and punched a 6-year-old child until she died, and a FLORIDA STATE TROOPER cannot be bothered to keep track of her police-issued firearm to endure it does not fall into the hands of her son. Of course, this is the same woman who couldn't be bothered to intervene in the brutal murder of that child, so this really should not be surprising.
The Florida Highway Patrol confirmed on Thursday that this woman is still a police officer for the state of Florida. It is an insult to the taxpayers of Florida that they are forced to pay this woman's salary. Her employment should have been immediately terminated the moment her monster of a son was found in possession of her firearm. It is an abomination that, nearly six years later, she is still leeching from the taxpayers.
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