The Missouri State Highway Patrol is getting mixed reviews in an audit released Tuesday. The law enforcement agency is being criticized for spending 5-point-6 million dollars on a new airplane.
State Auditor Tom Schweich (R) said they asked the Highway Patrol for an analysis into why a new plane was needed, but were not provided one
“There was no analysis…they said they needed a new plane for elected officials," Schweich said, "but there’s really only one elected official that uses the plane, and that’s the Governor.”
Highway Patrol officials dispute that part of the audit, saying they conducted a thorough analysis before buying the King Air 250 last December. The Associated Press found that Governor Nixon was the only state official to use the new plane during the first three months of this year. Schweich praised the Patrol, though, for its handling of school bus safety inspections in the wake of a 2010 crash involving two school buses in Franklin County, in which two people were killed.