HARTFORD — Gov. Ned Lamont today said the results of a State Police investigation into traffic stops eliminate concerns that numerous officers were falsifying traffic stop reports.
“There was no effort or intent whatsoever to skew the racial profiling analysis,” Lamont said at a press conference Thursday.
The investigation shows four state troopers assigned to Troop E in Montville forged hundreds of traffic tickets and created “ghost stops” apparently to make themselves visible. It was launched by Mr. Lamont in 2023 following a report by Hearst Connecticut Media. It’s more productive.
After this report was published, the Connecticut Anti-Racial Profiling Project, led by Ken Barone, analyzed more than 800,000 violations filed between 2014 and 2021. Researchers identified 26,000 traffic stops in the database that they could not substantiate. . This disparity appears to inflate the number of white drivers stopped while minimizing the number of Hispanic and black drivers stopped, data used to identify racial bias. is distorted.
The Alvin W. Penn Act, enacted in 2013, prohibits police officers from stopping or searching people based on their race, ethnicity, age, gender or sexual orientation. Part of that law requires police officers to record the characteristics of each vehicle they stop for a traffic violation.
However, while an investigation concluded there was no widespread effort to distort traffic data, state police failed to respond to inaccurate racial profiling data entered by four officers in 2018, resulting in fraud. It turns out he ignored signs that an act might have taken place. A bigger problem lies with the accuracy of racial profiling data systems.
The investigation also highlighted a failure to properly train state troopers and use proper data entry procedures.
Deirdre M. Daley, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, led the formal investigation in conjunction with the law firm of Finn, Dixon & Harling.
Most cops cleared
After reviewing internal emails and interviewing officers, investigators found no evidence to support charges against most of the state troopers accused of possibly falsifying traffic data.
“Our investigation found that 74 of the 81 active-duty police officers and constables identified in the audit process were unlikely to have engaged in intentional misconduct,” the report concludes. . “Furthermore, we found no evidence that any police officers or constables acted with the intent to distort racial profiling data or conceal their own racial profiling.”
The investigation attributed this discrepancy to carelessness, lack of training in data entry, miscommunication, and technical failures.
Lamont said he believes the system Troopers used to enter racial profiling data a decade ago was “cheated” and that technology updates have resolved many of the problems. He said he was there.
“A lot of it was entered manually. There were no terminals in the cars. The colonel said all of this could be done electronically now that every member’s car has a terminal. “It doesn’t necessarily require double entry, manual entry while standing next to the freeway at high speed,” Lamont said. “Many contradictions have been resolved over the past five to 10 years.”
“The most important sentence in the entire report”
Andy Matthews, former executive director of the Connecticut State Police Union, said the report is a vindication of state police.
Matthews pointed to the report’s conclusion that “the suggestion that as many as 130 police officers and constables may have been involved in intentional falsification of traffic stop data is not supported by the evidence.” An initial analysis published by the Connecticut Race Paper stated: The Anti-Profiling Project has unfairly and irreparably tarnished the image of the state police.
“We feel that irreparable damage has been done to the name and image of the State Police,” Matthews said in a phone call with the CT Examiner. “that [initial] The audit report came out prematurely. We’ve said that from the beginning. ”
He said the provision authorizing state police to extensively and intentionally falsify data was “the most important sentence in the entire report.”
Matthews also emphasized that the data discrepancies were due to inadequate technology, not fraud.
“If you don’t give people the proper equipment, how do you hold them accountable for calling a traffic stop or providing racial profiling data that you didn’t enter?” he told the CT Examiner. .
But Matthews said he has confidence in the state police chief. Ronnell Higgins and Col. Daniel Ruffman called for moving the state police in a “positive direction,” including getting funding from the state Legislature for equipment needed for police cruisers.
Barone says ‘significant’ inaccuracies have been identified
Barone, who is also deputy director of the University’s Institute for Urban and Regional Policy, said in a statement that the mission of the Connecticut No Racial Profiling Project is not to determine a motive, but to identify recordings that do not match. Barone noted that Daly’s findings identified “significant” inaccuracies in data submitted by state troopers.
Judiciary Committee Co-Chairman Gary Winfield said in a phone call with the CT Examiner that he was pleased to have the report, but that there were some aspects of the investigation that seemed strange.
He pointed to portions of the report that showed officers entered racial profiling data related to traffic stops, even though they were actually issuing parking tickets.
“There are major issues with training, compliance with training, or understanding training,” Winfield told CT Examiner.
Regarding training improvements, Higgins said at today’s press conference that state police will continue to improve the Daily investigation, including ongoing audits of racial profiling data and training supervisors and officers on the importance of reporting that data. He said he has already started implementing some of the recommendations.
“That data is trusted by advocates, public servants and elected officials. It’s important that decision makers can trust that data, and we’re going to improve the process,” Higgins said. Told.
Seven state police raids
Of the seven remaining state police officers suspected of misconduct, one was found to have entered verbal warnings for violations to increase productivity. The officer is currently assigned to office duty. The remaining six have been referred to state police for internal affairs investigation and are on “modified administrative duties” rather than road patrol.
Higgins echoed Lamont’s assertion that there was no widespread intent to falsify racial data, but said he was disturbed by the idea that officers may have intentionally entered incorrect data. Ta.
Higgins said, “The fact that even one police officer has been referred to an internal affairs investigation for allegedly falsifying traffic stop data is concerning to me, and to every police officer out there on duty every day. It’s very worrying,” he said. . “I don’t condone that. It’s that simple.”
Higgins said Rahman will assemble a team of investigators with experience in both internal affairs and criminal investigations to investigate a “variety of charges.” Mr Higgins said he could be fired and disqualified if he was found to have falsified data.
“Investigation results not available”
The study also found that 32 of the 49 retired police officers surveyed were unlikely to have intentionally falsified traffic stop data. The report states that “investigation results could not be obtained” for 14 retired soldiers. The officers were no longer employed by the state police and were not required to cooperate with the investigation.
Barone told the CT Examiner that it remains a concern, given that many of the state police’s retired officers have been involved in the most discrepancies and may still be working at local police departments. He said it was a material.
“The top 20 or 25 people we identified as having the most significant discrepancies have all left in the last few years,” Barone told CT Examiner. “Are we taking any action against them, especially if they are now local police officers? Are we obligated to do something about it?”
Higgins told a news conference that retired police officers are outside his jurisdiction, but he will continue to review the report and meet with experts to discuss the best way forward.
Mr. Lamont said he would hire an independent compliance officer to oversee the department for the next six months at Mr. Daley’s recommendation. He also said he would ask Congress to approve a measure that would expand penalties for police officers who falsify data beyond decertification.
“I have more confidence in the state police today than ever before,” Lamont said. “I think this shows that if there is a problem, it’s almost all unintentional and that we’re going to do everything we can to support the state police.” We’re going to give them the support they need to make sure they solve the problem, starting with IT, mentorship, and training.” They have the tools they need to get the job done. ”
