COLUMBUS, April 22, 2008 (AP): Gov. Ted Strickland asked the state highway patrol Tuesday to fire two troopers who engaged in a prank involving a costume that resembled a Ku Klux Klan outfit.

The behavior by the troopers from the Sandusky post can not be tolerated, Strickland said.

Trooper Craig Franklin is pictured in a Jan. 20 cell phone photo wearing a white cone on his head, a white paper mask and a white cloth over his shoulders, according to a patrol report. Trooper Eric Wlodarsky forwarded the cell phone photo.

The state's public safety director, Henry Gúzman, had recommended firing. However, a union contract provision had allowed them to stay on the job if they maintained a clean record for two years.
 

Gov. Ted Strickland

Wlodarsky told an investigator there was no malicious intent behind the picture, while Franklin apologized and said he was embarrassed.

Ohio State Troopers Association President Larry Phillips said the highway patrol offered what is called a ``last-chance agreement'' that allowed the troopers to keep their jobs with a two-year clean record. The agreement was legally binding, and the union will take legal action or defend the two troopers through the grievance process if the state tries to reverse its decision, he said.

``For them to now go back and have like a do-over is a breach of that contract,'' he said.