Troopers fired over KKK photo

TOLEDO, Ohio, April 23 (UPI) -- Two Ohio Highway Patrol officers have been fired after one was photographed by the other while dressed in a Ku Klux Klan-like costume, an official said.

The Toledo (Ohio) Blade reported Wednesday that Gov. Ted Strickland recommended that troopers Eric Wlodarsky and Craig Franklin be terminated.

The newspaper reported that Wlodarsky used a cell phone on Jan. 20 to photograph Franklin wearing a white cone on his head and a white paper mask while both were on duty.

"It's unfortunate, and I don't think anyone would argue that what took place was egregious," said Col. Richard Collins, commander of the patrol.

He noted that the decision to fire the troopers was a response to the governor's recommendation.

"This incident has tarnished the reputation of a great law enforcement agency," the governor said in a statement Tuesday. "We cannot and will not tolerate this kind of insulting, disgraceful conduct which undermines public confidence in the important work that the patrol does every day."