Police ties to Roethlisberger still in question

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pennsylvania state police say a trooper with Ben Roethlisberger the night he was accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old college student in a Georgia nightclub is subject to the department's code of conduct whether he was working for the Steelers quarterback or along as a friend.

Lt. Myra Taylor said Friday that an internal investigation will determine whether Trooper Ed Joyner did anything "that could reasonably be expected to destroy public respect" for the agency.

A friend of the accuser said in a statement to police that a "bodyguard" refused to acknowledge that the woman, who had been drinking, was alone with Roethlisberger in the back of a nightclub in Milledgeville, Ga., on March 5. Georgia investigators later identified that man as Joyner.

State police say Joyner had permission to work off-duty as Roethlisberger's "personal assistant" since 2005 - but say "bodyguard" is not listed in the duties he asked to perform.