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The Water Cooler
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"It's so pretty!!!!" - said OK DPS employee of her red Tahoe before she was unceremoniously fired
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<blockquote data-quote="Snattlerake" data-source="post: 3282757" data-attributes="member: 44288"><p>For posterity</p><p></p><p>The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety bought this red Chevrolet Tahoe this year but now plans to sell it. [Photo provided]</p><p></p><p>After being named to the No. 2 position at the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, Assistant Commissioner Megan Simpson had an important decision to make.</p><p></p><p>She had to pick the color for her new state-provided Chevy Tahoe.</p><p></p><p>"There's a bright red with black leather interior," she told the DPS fleet director in a March 12 email.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, I know it's slightly more," she wrote. "Yes, I know it's not the typical color. But as you would readily agree I'm sure I'm not the typical #2 and you're not the typical fleet manager, so I know it's the perfect choice!"</p><p></p><p>The state paid $35,904 to the dealer for the four-wheel-drive Victory Red Tahoe and spent almost $10,000 more to equip it with a siren, a side "ghost" light, a police radio, a gun vault and other accessories, records show. The state paid $999 more to put in leather seats, the records show.</p><p></p><p>"It's so pretty!!!!" Simpson told the fleet director after the Tahoe arrived in July.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Come on, you have to admit it's nice. And I will say it's worth the wait!" she wrote in a July 25 email. "Thank you so much for being proactive on this on my behalf. ... I appreciate you, even if I mostly just ask about my Tahoe."</strong></p><p></p><p>The purchase sparked grumbling and unrest inside the agency that runs the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, particularly because Simpson is an attorney, not a law enforcement officer. The fleet director had recommended she go with silver, gray or white and not a dark color because "they show dirt too easy. "I don't have a Tahoe. I don't want a Tahoe. They're more expensive and they're not as economical," Scully said.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><br /> <strong>The former commissioner, Rhoades, said he had put together a fleet management plan that would have saved $180,000 and put 10 vehicles on the road "straight off the bat" that otherwise would not have been out there. A key part of the plan was to move the red Tahoe to the executive transport detail </strong>once personnel changes there were complete, he said.<br /> <br /> "They were driving old pieces of junk," he said. "We were afraid they were going to break down with dignitaries in the car. ... We needed proper vehicles over there for transport.<br /> <br /> <strong>"We had already made the decision before it came in it wasn't going to be Megan's,"</strong> he said. "We were probably within a week of that whole transaction happening before we were pushed out. We had finally gotten the pieces in place."<br /> <br /> <br /> He said <strong>his own Tahoe was going to a trooper who needed it for a patrol dog</strong>. He said <strong>he and Simpson were going to drive pool cars.</strong><br /> <br /> "There was a plan in place. It was in motion. And I never got the opportunity to fulfill it," Rhoades said.<br /> <br /> <strong>His claim about the red Tahoe's destination has been met with skepticism</strong> by those who have heard about it. Emails released to The Oklahoman about the red Tahoe make no reference to moving it.<br /> <br /> Rhoades was replaced as commissioner after Gov. Kevin Stitt lost confidence in him. Rhoades, Simpson and Harrell have hired an attorney to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against the state.<br /> </li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Snattlerake, post: 3282757, member: 44288"] For posterity The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety bought this red Chevrolet Tahoe this year but now plans to sell it. [Photo provided] After being named to the No. 2 position at the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, Assistant Commissioner Megan Simpson had an important decision to make. She had to pick the color for her new state-provided Chevy Tahoe. "There's a bright red with black leather interior," she told the DPS fleet director in a March 12 email. "Yes, I know it's slightly more," she wrote. "Yes, I know it's not the typical color. But as you would readily agree I'm sure I'm not the typical #2 and you're not the typical fleet manager, so I know it's the perfect choice!" The state paid $35,904 to the dealer for the four-wheel-drive Victory Red Tahoe and spent almost $10,000 more to equip it with a siren, a side "ghost" light, a police radio, a gun vault and other accessories, records show. The state paid $999 more to put in leather seats, the records show. "It's so pretty!!!!" Simpson told the fleet director after the Tahoe arrived in July. [B]"Come on, you have to admit it's nice. And I will say it's worth the wait!" she wrote in a July 25 email. "Thank you so much for being proactive on this on my behalf. ... I appreciate you, even if I mostly just ask about my Tahoe."[/B] The purchase sparked grumbling and unrest inside the agency that runs the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, particularly because Simpson is an attorney, not a law enforcement officer. The fleet director had recommended she go with silver, gray or white and not a dark color because "they show dirt too easy. "I don't have a Tahoe. I don't want a Tahoe. They're more expensive and they're not as economical," Scully said. [LIST] [*] [B]The former commissioner, Rhoades, said he had put together a fleet management plan that would have saved $180,000 and put 10 vehicles on the road "straight off the bat" that otherwise would not have been out there. A key part of the plan was to move the red Tahoe to the executive transport detail [/B]once personnel changes there were complete, he said. "They were driving old pieces of junk," he said. "We were afraid they were going to break down with dignitaries in the car. ... We needed proper vehicles over there for transport. [B]"We had already made the decision before it came in it wasn't going to be Megan's,"[/B] he said. "We were probably within a week of that whole transaction happening before we were pushed out. We had finally gotten the pieces in place." He said [B]his own Tahoe was going to a trooper who needed it for a patrol dog[/B]. He said [B]he and Simpson were going to drive pool cars.[/B] "There was a plan in place. It was in motion. And I never got the opportunity to fulfill it," Rhoades said. [B]His claim about the red Tahoe's destination has been met with skepticism[/B] by those who have heard about it. Emails released to The Oklahoman about the red Tahoe make no reference to moving it. Rhoades was replaced as commissioner after Gov. Kevin Stitt lost confidence in him. Rhoades, Simpson and Harrell have hired an attorney to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against the state. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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