Gov. Sarah Palin is using the Alaska State Troopers as a “whipping boy” to try and cover up her misdeeds, the head of the troopers’ union said Wednesday.

The governor’s lawyer has accused the troopers of turning a blind eye to an alleged rogue officer, Mike Wooten, who also is the governor’s ex-brother-in-law.

“It is outrageous and disappointing that the governor would choose to make the Alaska State Troopers the whipping boy for her ethical lapse of judgment,” said John Cyr, the executive director of the Public Safety Employees Association. “>“It is outrageous and disappointing that the governor would choose to make the Alaska State Troopers the whipping boy for her ethical lapse of judgment,” said John Cyr, the executive director of the Public Safety Employees Association.

Cyr added that his organization was filing an ethics complaint against the governor and her staff regarding the disclosure of Wooten’s private personnel information.

Palin, recently picked to be the Republican vice presidential candidate, is the target of a legislative investigation into whether she improperly pressured former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to fire Wooten and then fired Monegan after he refused.

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