Retired OHP Trooper Files Lawsuit Against Department Heads

Retired Oklahoma Highway Patrol Captain Troy German filed a civil suit against the department’s top brass, Friday. 

According to the lawsuit filed in the Western District of Oklahoma, German alleges Billy ‘Rusty’ Rhoades acting as the commissioner for Department of Public Safety, and OHP Chief Michael Harrell engaged in a cheating scheme to promote another trooper.

The suit alleges the scheme was derived out of requests made by some in the Oklahoma legislature. German also claims there was widespread coverup, including a blackmail case later brought against him.

In 2018, German was accused of blackmailing state officials for a promotion.

He was indicted by the multi-county grand jury for allegedly threatening the DPS Commissioner, saying he would reveal misconduct within OHP.

The state dismissed the charge against German, just ahead of his preliminary hearing, in June 2019. Upon dismissal, the Attorney General’s Office stated the case was dropped “at the request of OHP”.  

Read Related Story: Indicted OHP Trooper To Retire After State Dismissed Blackmail Charge 

The dismissal also came after Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater was subpoenaed to testify as a defense witness. Prater was expected to testify about a conversation he had with Rhoades regarding the potential for prosecuting the blackmailing case.  Criminal charges were never filed in district court.

German retired from the agency following the dismissal. His civil lawsuit further exposes possible misconduct and misappropriation of funds.

See the full lawsuit below: 

 

The parties named in the lawsuit could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol released a statement Friday evening which said:

"Although the Department is aware of the existence of a federal lawsuit filed today in the Western District of Oklahoma allegedly involving Commissioner Rhoades and Colonel Harrell, no official notification of that suit has occurred at this time. We remain committed to the stance of transparency and accountability we have taken since the investigation began that led to a criminal indictment of Mr. German for blackmail and his retirement from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol pursuant to a plea agreement with the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office in exchange for a dismissal of the pending felony count against him.

"Once the suit is properly served and reviewed by counsel for the affected parties, appropriate legal action will be undertaken to address any allegations against individual Patrol members or the agency as a whole swiftly and definitively in order to minimize any unnecessary impact on the positive forward movement currently underway."

Stay with News 9 and News9.com for more on this developing story.