Agent who tracked Iowa governor's speeding SUV fired

Jeff Eckhoff | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Former Iowa agent reacts to being fired Former Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Larry Hedlund reacts to being fired Wednesday, July 17, 2013.

Larry Hedlund was put on leave two days after complaining about the incident

Hedlund and state troopers did not initially know the vehicle was the governor%27s

Department of Public Safety said firing was not a %22result of his complaint of the speeding%22 SUV

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A former Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent who encouraged troopers to pull over a speeding vehicle that contained the Iowa governor was fired Wednesday at the conclusion of a 2 1/2-month internal investigation.

Larry Hedlund, 55, said he now intends to sue the state.

"I've been treated like a criminal," Hedlund told The Des Moines Register a few hours after he learned he had been fired. "The best analogy I can give you is that they investigated me like I was a murderer, and in the process they murdered my career."

According to paperwork that state officials gave Hedlund on Wednesday, the 25-year veteran investigator was fired for sending "negative and disrespectful messages" about DCI leaders in emails to his subordinates, for misusing a state-owned car on April 26, and for being "deceptive" about his work status in subsequent conversations with his supervisor.

STORY: Review of Iowa governor's speeding vehicle underway

DOCUMENT: Firing documentation

"After careful consideration, it is apparent that your employment with the Iowa Department of Public Safety has been counterproductive to the best interests of the department," concludes the notice signed by DCI Director Charis Paulson. "Your actions and deportment represent behavior that is unacceptable and warrants discharge."

Hedlund, who was paid $96,518 in 2012, had no previous discipline on his record. He was suspended two days after he filed a formal complaint with his bosses that lamented his own failure to do more to stop Gov. Terry Branstad's speeding vehicle on April 26.

Recordings obtained by the Register earlier this month show Hedlund was headed west on U.S 20 when he telephoned a state dispatcher on April 26 and asked to have troopers stop a Chevy Tahoe that he estimated to be doing "a hard 90." Troopers eventually clocked the vehicle's speed at 84 mph.

Neither Hedlund nor the responding troopers knew it was Branstad's vehicle, however, until pursuing Trooper Matt Eimers caught up with it and recognized the Tahoe as "Car 1." The vehicle, which had a license plate not listed in state computerized records, then was being driven by Trooper Steve Lawrence.

Hedlund emailed his complaint to Paulson on April 29. Several hours later, Paulson canceled a previously scheduled meeting where Hedlund expected to get "a speech" about his lack of support for DCI policy changes. A formal complaint was filed against him the next day.

The day after that, according to Hedlund, the state sent two assistant DCI directors and an Iowa State Patrol trooper to his home to tell him he was relieved of duty.

"'This is not right,'" Hedlund on Wednesday quoted one of the supervisors as saying then. "'This is not how it's done. But this is what the commissioner said to do.'"

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Public Safety Commissioner K. Brian London referred questions to Lt. Robert Hansen, the department's spokesman, who noted that "work rule violations" were on record against Hedlund before April 26. The ultimate investigation was launched by Paulson, but would have been reviewed by London as part of any normal disciplinary process, he said.

The public safety department, in a press release, said that disciplinary action resulted from the investigation into Hedlund's actions. The release stressed that "Hedlund did not receive discipline as a result of his complaint of the speeding state vehicle."

The formal termination papers quote extensively from what Hedlund described as emails he sent to subordinates lambasting a coming policy change requiring DCI officers to type their own reports instead of dictating them.

The comments viewed as objectionable by the state include references by Hedlund that Paulson showed "a glaring and fundamental lack of understanding and appreciation of what the agents do in the field" and to Hedlund's belief that "they are making plans to go backwards about 20 years with reports, in my opinion."

Hedlund, in his interview with the Register, concedes that he at times was "outspoken" and "passionate" about his policy disagreements with supervisors. Hedlund said he expected an eventual talking-to, but he never thought he would be fired "because of my tone."

"We do very serious work," Hedlund said. "We do very demanding work. We deal with cases where little children are murdered and sexually abused and adults are murdered. You know, it's not for the faint of heart. It tends to make you a little bit blunt."

Meanwhile, Hedlund said he still has not had any word on the state's pending review of driving habits by the troopers who transport Branstad and other state dignitaries.

"The only communication I have received about the Department of Public Safety or from my chain of command as a result of that email … was 'please explain why I am on Highway 20,'" Hedlund said. "I believe 100 percent that had the press not gotten involved and gotten a copy of that video, there's no way that ever would have been investigated."

Branstad at first stressed his faith in the troopers who transport him and said he tries not to be a backseat driver. But Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds later acknowledged an ongoing state review of how troopers drive while transporting executives between events and how those events should be scheduled.

"We're going to make every attempt to stick to, to absolute follow the law," Reynolds said. "That's our intent."