Batt - ‘No.1’ - Speeds To Memorial Service

Gov. Phil Batt was a bit rushed Thursday morning, so he just reached for the police radio in his car and asked for “a little tolerance.”

Identifying himself as “No. 1,” Gov. Phil Batt told an Idaho State Police dispatcher that he was late for a memorial service for two Kuna firefighters.

Batt’s spokeswoman, Amy Kleiner, said the governor’s aide, who was driving the car, was speeding to the service.

“I’m sure in his mind, when he called, his main concern was not to avoid getting a ticket. He didn’t want to be late,” Kleiner said. “I think he was worried that it was going to be disrespectful and disruptive to the family to get there late.”

Col. E.D. Strickfaden, Idaho State Police superintendent, said Batt got no special treatment. Officers in the field were not alerted, he said.

Five years ago, state troopers were told legislators, other officials and fellow officers were not to be ticketed because of an unwritten “policy of immunity.” When then-Gov. Cecil Andrus learned about the policy, he asked two top law officials to step down.

“We do not tell our people that anybody has a free ride,” Strickfaden said. “Officers in the field have that discretion - to issue a warning or a citation.”