Maybe Mitt Romney really is qualified to be president. One of his top aides is already under investigation in two states for allegedly impersonating a police officer, a misdemeanor charge. Jay Garrity, described by the AP as "ever present" and "constantly at the side" of Romney took a leave of absence on Friday after the investigations heated up.
The details of the incident(s) is(are) hazy and, from what we can tell, extremely bizarre. Garrity is accused of impersonating a cop -- that'd be "Trooper Garrity," first in his class at the academy -- while leaving a message on Mother's Day on the answering service of a plumbing company -- that'd be Wayne's Drains in Wilmington, Mass. Burlington, Vt. According to people who heard the message, Trooper Garrity was relaying orders to subordinates in the field. We hope it was in a gruff, cop-like manner.
But wait. It gets weirder. Last month, Garrity tried to muscle a New York Times reporter who'd been tailing the Romney motorcade. Garrity (not sure if it was Trooper Garrity at this point) allegedly told Mark Leibovich that he'd run the plates on Leibovich's rental car and that the ink-stained wretch should "break away from the caravan," as the AP puts it. In New Hampshire, citizens aren't allowed to access the state's license plate database.
But wait. It gets weirder still:
No word yet if there's been a 187 on Garrity's career, but we suspect so. Read the latest here.
UPDATE: Thank you Trooper Cheney for pointing out that Wayne's Drainsis a Massachusetts company. It is located in Wilmington not Burlington as the Boston Globe originally reported.
Image: Reno 911
