Cops suspended over Elliott Copter ride:

Two Georgia State Patrol troopers were suspended without pay for letting NASCAR driver Bill Elliott hop a ride in their helicopter when they were supposed to be reporting about marijuana fields. The troopers spent two hours shuttling Elliott from his home in Dawsonville, where he had dropped off an airplane, back to Blairsville, where Elliott's car was parked. Cpl. Kevin Coalson, the pilot, was suspended for three days last week, and Lt. Eddie Williams began a six-day suspension Monday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. During the June 29 flight over northern Georgia, Elliott, a licensed helicopter pilot, took the controls of the surplus military aircraft intended only for law enforcement. Meanwhile, anti-drug officers on the ground waited for details about the location of the marijuana fields. The newspaper said the troopers could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But according to investigative files, they said they didn't know there was anything wrong with giving Elliott a ride.

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP

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