Police Chief Grounded from Driving
The Tennesean by staff writer Anne Paine

Metro's new police chief might have become the city's top law enforcement official, but it didn't mean he would be allowed to drive a city car. He had to be schooled in the practice first. It wasn't that Chief Ronal Serpas, 43, former head of the Washington State Patrol, didn't have a driver's license or didn't know how to drive. It's just that the training is required of any Metro employee who might operate a city-owned vehicle. Mayor Bill Purcell is among the many graduates of the course.

''I couldn't drive myself until I took a class,'' Serpas said in the midst of a story he was telling the Davidson County legislative delegation this week. He was being chauffeured from place to place, he said, which cramped his style. He had noticed an apparent crack cocaine sale on Jo Johnston Avenue and had not been able to stop right away because he wasn't at the wheel, he said. By the time the officer driving him made it back around, the men were gone, he said.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said the chief took the basic four-hour, defensive-driving class Wednesday night by himself. Advertisements had been placed to offer it to anyone who needed it, but there were no other takers, Aaron said. The class, approved by the National Safety Council, instructs on such topics as gauging stopping distance and how to avoid situations that create road rage. Veronica Frazier, Metro Human Resources assistant director, said her office had confirmation that the chief passed, but she didn't know his score on the final test. ''I'm betting he made a hundred,'' she said.

Serpas got to drive a Ford Crown Victoria home Thursday night for the first time, Aaron said. But don't expect to see him completely chauffeur-free quite yet. He'll be riding with others in the Police Department off and on as he gets to know the city, Aaron said.

 

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