PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Public Safety re-inspected 1,294 school buses after it was discovered that the employee in charge of the first inspections might have committed criminal violations.
Officials with the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS0, say they received a complaint alleging misuse of a department vehicle by Trooper Steve Powers on Tuesday, November 26, 2019. An internal investigation found conflicting information as to whether or not Power’s school bus inspections were conducted to the Department’s standards. Out of an abundance of caution, the Department immediately mobilized 48 school bus inspectors to re-inspect all of the school buses last inspected by Mr. Powers from 2019 through February 2020.
Powers was employed with the agency for 18 years.
The troopers discovered only minor violations, which were immediately corrected, according to AZDPS.
On February 20, 2020, Powers resigned from the Department in lieu of termination.