A New Jersey trooper has benefited from law enforcement “professional courtesy” by being released without charges or citations in at least 10 traffic stops over a 14-month period, including one apparent DWI, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. In one instance, Trooper Sheila McKaig, 41, a nine-year veteran, admitted to the local officer who pulled her over that she had drunk “a lot” before getting behind the wheel. But instead of being charged, McKaig was driven to the township's police station, where fellow troopers picked her up.
It was the third time in three months in early 2008 that an off-duty McKaig was stopped by police after drinking. Each time no blood-alcohol test was given, no charges were filed and no ticket was written. Today McKaig is still on the road as a state trooper. The file on McKaig's motor vehicle stops was part of state police disciplinary records requested by the Star-Ledger and provided by the Office of Administrative Law. The incident report was obtained from local police under the state's Open Public Records Act. Officials say McKaig used the breaks to turn her life around and has now stayed sober for two years.