Roop’s Oops
Posted by BrianFrom the Huntsville Times:
Times columnist Lee Roop was arrested Friday night and charged with driving under the influence of drugs, possession of cocaine and speeding.
According to Huntsville Police spokesman Wendell Johnson, Roop was pulled over at 10:30 p.m. in front of the Shell Food Mart at U.S. 72 East and Old Gurley Road, for driving 65 mph in a 40 mph zone. Johnson said that, according to the police report, the officer saw a clear plastic bag with a white powder substance in Roop’s car and tests on the scene verified the substance was cocaine.
Roop was taken to the Madison County jail without incident, Johnson said.
I knew something was askance when I glanced at the bottom of the page that Roop’s Sunday column always appears on and didn’t see it.
I hate hearing stories about people (allegedly) making poor decisions that can ruin lives. I hope that Roop is able to get the help he needs to get through this tough patch in his life and career.
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March 16th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I feel for him, even though I disagree with many of Roop’s columns.
If he doesn’t have a prior record, he probably won’t go to jail (I’m assuming he didn’t have a bunch of cocaine). He probably wouldn’t even have to go to rehab, but I think that the Times will encourage him to do so.
Looks like he was caught speeding through road construction, and he must have been tweaking to have gotten searched. IMO his judgment had to have been impaired for him not to swallow the felony - he might have thought he could make it home with his bag.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:36 am
One might say that his judgment was impaired for him to have cocaine with him in the first place.
March 17th, 2008 at 7:39 am
presumed innocent
March 17th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Of course, hence the word “allegedly” in the post.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Why do you think he needs help (other than legal)? Just because someone gets arrested doesn’t mean they are an addict in need of governemnt intervention.
‘Dependency’ is a term of art in psychology and the DSMIV (4th revision of the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) provides treating shrinks with a decision tree approach to diagnosis. One requirement for the diagnosis is legal problems.
I hope Lee Roop beats the charges.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
If the charges are true…
First why do you assume I’m talking about “government intervention” or that I’m asserting that he is dependent?
Keeping my initial caveat in mind, at best he did a dumb thing. Drinking and driving, in addition to being illegal, puts your life and the lives of innocent people at risk. Using, possessing, or transporting drugs are illegal actions regardless of anyone’s personal opinion as to whether they are just laws. With that in mind one puts their entire life’s work at risk by running afoul of that law. And for what? To get high. It is stupid. Period.
So at best Roop needs, in addition to legal council, some help from friends or family to see him through this ordeal. They should lift him up and give him the support necessary to avoid making another stupid mistake.
At worse, since you brought it up, he could have a substance abuse problem. In that case he may need professional help, whether court mandated or at the insistence of his family.
I don’t hope he “beats the charges” if the charges are true. I hope that if they are unsubstantiated that he is acquitted and he can revive as much of his reputation as possible. If they are true than I trust that our legal system will punish him accordingly.
I don’t like to see anyone’s life destroyed. Given Roop’s profession and its implicit requirement of the publics trust he is not in a good situation from a professional perspective. I would like to see the Times offer him a chance at redemption. He could write a series chronicling his struggles through this period of his life and let it serve as an instructional narrative for others.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I was going by what you said in one of the comments…”I hope he gets the help he needs”. I thought that was really odd coming from you if you meant any kind of help other than legal. That’s why I was asking for clarification.
March 21st, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Lee is a bitter, unforgiving, nasty man. He is rarely fair in his columns, and has spewed his left-wing bitterness and bias without remorse. His ego got the better of him, as it does when he writes his columns. The Huntsville Times is filled with partisan wannabees. I imagine Lee Roop would be merciless on a republican arrested in the situation he was caught.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Do you know him? he’s a friend of mine, and while Lee may have problems, he is not “bitter”, “unforgiving”, or “nasty”. He is a kind guy who has put in a lot of work at the local women’s shelter. Just because you don’t agree with someone’s politic’s, there’s no need to resort to personal attacks.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Kent, since you know him…
How’s he handling all this?
March 25th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Kent…Could you also let him know that I am thinking about him and that if there is anything I can do to please let me know.
Loretta
March 26th, 2008 at 9:03 am
He’s doing as well as could be expected. Obviously, he’s dealing with a lot of stuff. I haven’t spoken directly to him since the incident, but I’ll pass your regards on when I do.
October 19th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Anyone know what ever happened to Lee Roop?
October 21st, 2008 at 5:52 am
Lee recently started writing articles for the Times again. He returned with no fanfare whatsoever.