Appeal: Booze & Broads at the Mississippi Highway Patrol
Ivana Williams is not going to leave the Mississippi Highway Patrol without a fight. Although the Mississippi Highway Patrol terminated the wayward trooper a few weeks ago, she fired right back with an appeal that dished the dirt as she claimed she is the victim of MHPS's good ole boy sexist culture.
The drama began last year when a woman accused Williams of sexually
assaulting her. The alleged victim filed a complaint with the Attorney
General and filed a petition for a temporary restraining order against
Williams in Rankin County Chancery Court in December. Earlier post on petition. (A response has been filed but it will be covered in a later post this week.)
Williams might have been fired but there was no shame in her game as she fired right back at her former employer in a notice of appeal submitted to the Mississippi Employee Appeals Board on February 28. She also posted this video on Instagram in a wee bit of foreshadowing.
The appeal minces no words as it charges the Mississippi Department of Public Safety singled her out because she was a woman while it allegedly treated "similarly situated men differently."
You told Internal Affairs that you notified Master Sergeant Eric Henry of your interview with the Attorney General's Office, either the day of or the day after and Captain Chriss Turnipseed two or three weeks later. However, you did not notify Troop C Troop Commander Ricky Dean.You admitted in your due process hearing that you did not notify anyone prior to your interview.
Although DPS determined Williams did not notify her supervisor, Williams disputed the finding. She said MHP reassigned her to the MHP's CORE program on August 5 and ordered her to report to Captain Chris Turnipseed. Williams said the interview did not take place until August 21. Williams claimed she notified her immediate supervisor, Master Sergeant Eric Henry, and called Captain Turnipseed so she could notify him as well. However, she was unable to reach him. Although the termination letter stated Troop C Commander Ricky Dean was her supervisor, Williams said he was no longer her supervisor when she transferred to the CORE program and interviewed in August. Thus, DPS allegedly identified the wrong supervisor as well as the date of the interview in the termination letter. However, Ms. Williams was just getting warmed up.
Polygraph Exam
The termination letter cited the results of a polygraph exam as one of the reasons for her dismissal. The letter stated:
Ms. Williams claims the polygraph exam was "improper":
The examination and the pre-interview made the Appellant extremely uncomfortable as the male interviewer - a DPS employee named Bo Lewis - asked her multiple questions about her private sex life. In the pre-interview, Lewis asked the Appellant to give him the names of her prior sexual partners. Notwithstanding the unconstitutional questioning by Lewis, there are licensed female polygraph examiners in the Jackson area that DPS could have easily used to conduct the polygraph at issue.
Williams argues the questions about her private sex life make the exam null and void.
Sending of Nude Pictures
The sending of nude pictures is probably the most salacious part of this sordid affair. This section of the termination letter says it all:
The letter states "In your due process hearing, you admitted sending or showing illicit pictures while on duty. However, Ms. Williams tells a slightly different story in her response:
20. The Respondent states in its decision that the Appellant admitted to sending or showing illicit pictures while on duty. This is false. The picture sharing also occurred 3-4 years ago, complicating the ability of the Appellant to remember exactly when the pictures were shared. The Appellant stated that if such behavior happened while on duty, it was during breaks.
21. Further, these pictures were all sent from the Appellant's personal phone to the personal phones of those listed in the decision letter and each of the men named in the letter except one requested in advance that she share the pictures with them. Additionally, every one of the men listed outrank the Appellant, and some served as her supervisor while asking her for illicit pictures. No adverse action has been taken against these men.
Kingfish note: She just got fired. Let's see if any more troopers suddenly disappear from the roster in the next few weeks. One of the Master Sergeant's named was in her chain of command so stay tuned.
"Beer, Beer, Glorious Beer", Alfred P. Doolittle, British philosopher
There is also the matter of beer. DPS said the former trooper admitted to drinking beer in her patrol vehicle.
The respondent claimed she used the beer can as a joke:
22. Like the previous issue involving photos, this happened long before the notice letter and hearing. The Appellant did send the picture, however as she explained at the hearing (and frankly is evident from the picture itself) it was sent as a joke. It is readily apparent that the patrol car is off, that the communication devices are off, and that the Appellant is not seated in the vehicle at the time the picture was taken. The Appellant did not consume alcohol on the job.
before she played a card of whataboutism:
23. Further, the Respondent based its decision to terminate upon the Appellant's possession of a beer can in a patrol car. Meanwhile, the Respondent's executive protection vehicles are under orders to have a fifth of whiskey in each one of them at all times. Additionally, it is commonplace for troopers to carry beer in their vehicle while traveling to disaster recovery detail.
DPS sources said troopers will sometimes take coolers of beer when traveling to disaster sites where power is out and groceries are limited. Troopers like to have a cold one after work as well as any other working stiff. The executive protection vehicles have bourbon for visitors, not the actual troopers. Williams claimed citing her use of a beer as a joke while allowing troopers to have beer and bourbon in vehicles was plain old-fashioned sex discrimination.
Accessing Porn Websites on MHP Phone
In what was probably the most damning finding in the termination letter, MHP Colonel Charles Haynes said Williams accessed not one, not two, but seven porn sites on her state-issued phone.
Ms. Williams denied these allegations as well:
26. The Appellant has children in her home and admitted that from time to time her children may take use of her state phone. She is in no way alone in that happening occasionally. The Respondent's Commissioner has himself admitted to the same.
27. As the Appellant explained at the hearing, on October 22, 2023 she had sole custody of her four children, one of whom is a teen-aged boy. She did not - nor has she ever - visited pornographic websites on her state phone. She certainly would not have had time to visit 7 of them at the same time at 6:11:34 p.m. while caring for four children.
before claiming she was singled out because she was a she as she went back to burning down the house:
28. Once again, the issue of gender-based discrimination is evident in this finding. There is currently a Master Sargent employed by the Respondent who had a video of him having sex with another person on his state-issued phone. The existence of this video on his state-issued cell phone is well-known within DPS, yet he has not faced any disciplinary action whatsoever
Note: Damn. Hot, diggity damn. Fire up some Talking Heads.
Retaliation
Command transferred the trooper from Troop C (Rankin County area) to Troop D (Bolivar County) on January 2, 2024.
64 comments:
She said on facebook she is considering going to law school.
Character & Fitness.
The Netflix series based on this will be great. Maybe Jennifer Lawrence will play the trooper.
No matter how hot a woman is, someone somewhere is sick of her crap.
Oh Opie, the gift that keeps on giving.
As somewhat of an amateur lawyer myself, I will need to see those photos and that video in order to determine guilt or innocence.
The greatest trick in state government. Instead of firing someone, reassign them to the Delta in hopes they quit.
I have questions. Someone please chime in with answers regarding legal issues.
Can criminal charges be filed against her for what the other woman says was a non consensual act, and the sharing of the video? There is a mention of the other woman wanting a restraining order....did IW attempt to maintain contact with this woman after she asked her not to? Is the woman suing on a civil charge?
MS is an At Will state regarding employment is my understanding. If that is the case, why does she want her JOB back, or is it the money she would have made as an underpaid state employee?
I don't think the test should have included asking about her sexual partners unless they were involved in this video incident. That much, I do feel was very wrong. I also don't think that during the past few "Me Too" years, that she was intimidated by senior officers to send the photos of herself for fear of her job security.
Is she really insinuating that her teenage son used her phone for looking up porn sites? It was her responsibility to keep her state owned equipment secure from anyone else in her house. Anyone else's kids who play on their state phones should be reprimanded at the very least, since the owner is the STATE.
The beer can video...that's just childish. Not even worth listing as an offense really. But do troopers really carry coolers of beer around? Or is that an urban legend?
I hope the department stands up to this lawsuit and doesn't offer a settlement. The behavior involving the video is despicable and she should have known she would be held to a higher standard due to her public recognition----much of which she brought upon herself with her intention to be a social media personality. She's wholesome, girl next door looking, but not arm candy level.
I know her well. She readily admits she likes the male gaze at any and all times. And she freely admits she uses that to her advantage. First of all, even if this is true that other people do such things, doesn't make it ok for her to also do bad things. And second, to blame her children (especially the teen, who has his own phone and wouldn't need her phone for porn sites), is especially abominable.
The dog ate my homework excuse for her kid accessing porn sites in her state issued phone is a bs lie. If she allowed that then she is culpable in what showed up on the browser history. You are 100% responsible for what happens on your work issued phone. That dog won’t hunt and more than likely is a lie and sorry her atty’s pulled that card to allow her to throw her own kid under the bus.
This won’t end well for tax payers. Anybody who knows a MHP trooper knows she is right. Good ole boys for sure.
Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Ronnie Millsap, could all see this coming.
So any vehicle the governor might possibly ride in has to have a bottle of bourbon in it?
That does not surprise me one bit, and actually explains a lot.
That we are aghast at this woman's sex stuff, but are perfectly OK with "we gotta have a bottle ready at all times for the governor," says a lot.
But it's just for visiting dignitaries, right? You never know when someone with a drinking problem might visit, who can't wait until they get to a restaurant, bar, hotel, or the governor's mansion.
Everyone knows there is an executive exception in the open container law, right?
Patsy said it best…..”Crazy…..”
What. A. Redneck.
I'm gettin' the popcorn ready, dis gone git gud.
With a legal team like that who can lose.
My psychiatrist told me I was crazy, so I told him I wanted a second opinion. He said okay, you’re ugly too.
Rodney Dangerfield
Women have NO business being cops or in the military. PERIOD
You all know you would. I know I would. Simply not being obese makes her an 8/10 in Mississippi.
Eicleberger and Robert Moak had better obey the laws while traveling on the MHP patrolled highways in this state.
"MS is an At Will state regarding employment is my understanding. If that is the case, why does she want her JOB back..."
You obviously know nothing about At Will employment. At will allows an employer to terminate employment "for any reason or no reason at all" as long as the reason is not in violation of state or federal employment law.
She charges her employer with a multitude of law violations regarding her employment and her termination. Retaliation (for filing a complaint) and sex discrimination (in multiple contexts), as claimed by this person, if shown to the satisfaction of a court, are both violations of state and/or federal law. Therefore, the At Will Doctrine, which has not been raised, is out the window.
Unequal and inconsistent application of an employer's rules is also a large issue in this case.
The agency has stumbled all over itself in this entire situation; however, there seems sufficient cause for her job termination and reasonable defense of it.
Her behavior puts her well up shit-creek. And although she is probably fond of paddles, she ain't got one in this case.
I worked for a Mississippi Agency in the early eighties, during the Holidays we had alcoholic beverages and food in the office. You can’t do that now because of the tattling! It’s a generational thang!
Why can’t we just get along!
Don't know anything about this or why she was fired but I am 100% on her side until they fire the civil rights violating POS E31.
I hope she wins and I hope she takes a bunch of them down in the process.
Evil. You can see it in her eyes.
If I am Charles Haynes , I would go ahead and clear out the men that got tied in to all this mess as well. That’s being said it seems like her thirst trapping and getting self imposed dirt on her superiors was her goal from the get go ! This was all by design.
A Petri dish in Patent Leather. The MHP dominatrix. They love getting spankings.
Lots of thirsty desperate old men fawning over her in her Facebook posts. It's sad.
@6:11 Lol..Move over Mama Justice here comes Sippi Girl attorney at law.
Like 8:39am, I enjoy reading the comments of desperate men begging for attention on her FB pics.
When I am having a bad day, it reminds me...at least I am not that pathetic.
8:23 totally agree.
The funny thing is, the thirst trap victims cannot even see they are being set up.
They are just so overjoyed to get attention from her, it must be genuine.
All the blood that should be supplying their brains gets umm, rerouted.
Blaming her teenage son for the porn site history on her state-issued phone shows just what kind of POS this woman is.
Her poor children have to learn from her. Based on this chick’s lack of sophistication and not being allowed to bring her attorneys in with her, to take tests, she will never be a lawyer. She’s cute, but she’s not one I would give a second look. 🫤
Go to law school? Seems she should already be a millionaire, or close to it, as a successful “social media influencer.” Isn’t this now one of the esteemed professions of our society?
They need to do a honest look at the entire department and clean house. Will it happen? Probably not. The reason she got fired was she was the nail that stuck up higher than the others and made her bosses look bad. She got fired because of her "Hey look at me" attitude. Unfortunately, there are probably other troopers that are just as guilty of similar if not worse behavior. See Jason Young watchdog group on facebook where he got caught lying to get someone arrested and the only punishment he has apparently received is to take couple of paid time hours off to receive training on the constitution. The department needs to be thoroughly cleaned from the top to the bottom. To the good MHP Troopers, if there are any, DO YOUR DUTY TO THE TAXPAYERS AND REPORT THE MALCONTENTS that make your department look like that the only people that are employed are a bunch of thugs and miscreants.
Wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee, wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee, wee-ooh-wee-ooh-wee
I know you would Reggie Ray
7:09 said: "although she is probably fond of paddles, she ain't got one in this case."
THE WINNER!
I hope she looses and moves away. I don't care if little Jimmy jumped off the bridge, you don't need to follow him.
She has acted like trash, put a bad light on the good officers who just do their job.
6:11 PM, how soon we forget. Do you remember the Jackson policeman who was the DUI champion of Mississippi? He won awards for the number of DUIs he wrote. That was until he was stopped in a roadblock drunk and driving his patrol car. He is no longer a Jackson policeman but went to law school and worked for one of the Jackson lawyers who specialize in defending people who get DUIs.
She'll be more satisfied with her next position.
@10:52
That’s funny right there!!! I see what you did!
I don't think her little law school gambit is going to work out. She sounds incredibly naive about the whole endeavor, saying on Facebook, "...so if you know anything about being a lawyer, and how hard the school is, or how long it takes, let me know..." Jesus, girl.
Ah, this is the Mississippi I know and love.
Message to her and anyone who is in her tribe.
MOVE - leave MS
Please just let it go and leave the state.
She'll never make it "TO" law school. She's getting the attention she wants, being controversial, getting followers on her social media then she'll drop and OF link and that'll be how she "makes it". Hide and watch.
She would have been a trophy after midnight at the Dock.
She seems a little simpleminded, 11:41. Likes to “see their face turn red”, eh. Maybe she should ask Matt Kizziah if she should go into law.
She has had her 15 minutes of attention. She needs to get a J.O.B. and a real life.
Apparently, I'm the only one who thinks the main scandal here is that Troopers assigned to the governor are required to keep a bottle of bourbon in every vehicle at all times.
-3/5 at 8:10
Yes, she does sound a bit simple when she says, "...I'm gonna go back and get my law degree."
"My" law degree, as if it's just something there for the taking. Never mind the LSAT, the application process, completing the rigorous course of study (if admitted), and then passing the bar exam.
But she loves to argue and thinks she's pretty good at it, so there's that.
My popcorn is ready.
Mississippi State troopers are garbage. They have lost any respect that they may have ever had at one time.
The entire organization needs a reset.
It will be interesting to see what those in Laurel, MS have to say about this! Get your popcorn out!!
I agree about MHP.
They haze each other for the right to write tickets and draw a souped-up pension.
@2:26
Face it. Lawyers are less than two years away from being totally replaced by AI. Lawyers are already using ChatGPT as a writing tool. Soon anyone will be able to do the same. You better lobby to ban AI lawyers before the computers take your jerbs!
8:49 wrote: "Soon anyone will be able to do the same."
A few years back I was involved in an estate where a guy thought he was smart enough to write his own will with Google.
It cost his heirs about $100K to get it all sorted out.
She is a accurate representation of MHP. They go hand in hand. As terrible as she is, hopefully she continues to expose the dirt.
It's going to be interesting to find out what other law enforcement officers and elected officials sent her a D pic. 🍿
6:28
Hey Ivana ! I don’t think it will matter , think those MHP Guys will be canned soon.
6:28 posted, "It's going to be interesting to find out what other law enforcement officers and elected officials sent her a D pic."🍿
Before you bring up Brett, that's an entirely different thread found elsewhere on this here blog.
After this is all over her law enforcement career will be as well. There won't be a state, county or municipal agency that will hire her.
Bentonia maybe but I doubt it.
She would have been a trophy at The Dock BEFORE midnight too if we are being honest 12:19.
I'll give her this much: whatever "it" is, she owns it.
Retired troopers, all over the state, reading this stuff and wishing, wishing. And hoping, hoping, all their shit stays secret.
Troopers used to run a "lick it or ticket" campaign and then compare notes.
Shut. MHP. Down.
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