Trooper Says He’s Not Bitter Jackstadt Says Lies Were Told, Patrol Was Unfair, Media Vicious

Lane Jackstadt, who got his job back Monday, says he’s not bitter toward those who accused him of cheating on a Washington State Patrol test or of forcing a young couple to go to antiabortion counseling.

But in a half-hour news conference, the reinstated Washington state trooper said lies were told about him, patrol officials singled him out for punishment, the media treated him viciously, and Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice advocates waged a vendetta against him.

His news conference was a chance “to hear from my voice, from someone who was there and not someone who was making up something,” he said.

Jackstadt, 34, a 12-year trooper, was fired in December for recording questions on a promotional examination. He was reinstated Monday and placed on administrative leave pending completion of an internal investigation of the complaint from the young couple.

Jackstadt said he’s not sure when he might return to active duty.

A conservative Christian, Jackstadt said he thanks God for “these times of faith and growth” that have shown him his religion and family are more important than his job.

“In a weird way, I thank even you guys (the media). Some of you guys have been literally vicious toward me.”

Jackstadt was fired after patrol officials decided he had cheated on a 1992 test for sergeant by making a tape recording of the exam. The incident was revealed last fall when fellow troopers told their superiors about it, the patrol said.

It was common practice for troopers to obtain and study questions from promotional exams, he said: “But it was different because Lane Jackstadt did it.”

An arbiter ruled last week that firing Jackstadt over the exam incident was too severe and that a 30-day suspension was the proper punishment. Jackstadt will receive back wages from Feb. 10 - 30 days after he left the job.

He contends he was singled out for punishment because of the uproar over his handling of a traffic stop involving Deanna Thomas, 18, and Justin Cooper, 20, while they were on their way to an abortion appointment July 27 in the suburbs east of Seattle.

Thomas and Cooper say when Jackstadt learned where they were going, he forced them to follow him to a church-affiliated counseling service.

A King County Superior Court jury deadlocked last month at Jackstadt’s trial on charges of unlawful imprisonment and official misconduct. Prosecutors decided not to retry the case, though the couple’s attorney has raised the possibility of a lawsuit.