FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said Wednesday that he has no problems with his safety commissioner using state troopers as chauffeurs.
That follows an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation.
Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons commutes to and from Memphis on the weekends.
Our hidden-camera investigation discovered that he sometimes uses state troopers -- at least two, occasionally four -- to help him get back home.
Gibbons claimed it helps him keep working during the drive, and the governor said Wednesday that he won't tell him to stop.
"Like a lot of our commissioners, they have very involved busy lives," Haslam said. "If that's what he needs to do to get his job done, I trust Commissioner Gibbons. He's been a very responsible steward of his department's money."
The governor repeated the Tennessee Highway Patrol's claim that the trips with the commissioner put troopers out on the road where they could respond to emergency, although officials could not point to any specific examples where that has really happened.
Related story: Commissioner Uses State Troopers As Chauffeurs
