The Arizona Department Of Public Safety has inspected nearly 1,300 school buses for mechanical problems again, after the state trooper originally assigned to inspect them was accused of negligence.
DPS spokesperson Bart Graves says Trooper Steve Powers may have been criminally negligent by not conducting school bus inspections to the agency’s standards.
"We had all of our bus inspectors go out and ensure that all of the school districts assigned to Powers, that those buses had been inspected by department inspectors, because we weren’t 100% sure that he had done his job," Graves said. "The troopers reinspected 1,294 school buses, discovering only minor violations, which were immediately corrected."
According to Graves, Powers, who is now retired, is under criminal investigation. No charges have been filed against him.
