Ohio cop fired for speeding, trooper to be suspended

COLUMBUS (AP) — An Ohio police officer has been fired for off-duty speeding on his motorcycle at nearly 150 mph, but a state trooper ticketed with him keeps his job.

Christopher Thomas learned from a letter Monday that he was being dismissed as an officer for the Columbus suburb of Gahanna. The city’s safety director wrote that Thomas was not suited to be a police officer.

Ohio State Highway Patrol officials wanted to terminate Trooper Jason Highsmith. Instead, an agreement reached with the State Troopers Association on Monday will suspend him without pay for five days and reassign him.

Thomas and Highsmith both pleaded guilty to speeding for citations they received on Interstate 70 on June 28. Authorities said Thomas was clocked at 149 mph and Highsmith at 147 mph.