CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : CHP Officers Level Harassment Claims

The adult daughters of the commissioner of the California Highway Patrol have been ticketed for drunk driving, speeding, running stop signs and drag-racing, and Highway Patrol officers complain that they were interrogated and intimidated by senior CHP officials after citing the women. Maurice Hannigan has denied any interference with his daughters’ tickets, and said he has told officers to cite them when they deserve it. But some officers in the North Sacramento station claim that senior officials forced changes in an accident report and harassed officers who cited or arrested Hannigan’s eldest daughter. Internal reviews are under way by the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, which oversees the CHP, and the Sacramento district attorney’s office. One patrolman also has asked the state auditor general to investigate. The California Assn. of Highway Patrolmen said a preliminary inquiry found no basis for the allegations.