NEWS > 06 December 2006

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Hartford Courant - United Stat
06 December 2006

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Police Shield

The job of state police is to protect the public. But the predilection of too many Connecticut troopers is to protect their own.

That's the conclusion of a disturbing report by a team from the Connecticut state attorney general's office and New York State Police. It charges Connecticut state police with dereliction of duty when it comes to patrolling themselves.

The governor has already, to her credit, ordered an independent commission to oversee reform. The commissioner of public safety deserves the most credit, however, for asking his New York counterpart for the evaluation in October 2005.

The team studied complaints against 19 of the state's 1,200 state police. The investigators included a half-dozen people from the state attorney general's office and nearly a dozen from the New York State Police. They held 262 interviews.

Bringing in out-of-state investigators from a respected police force was smart. Their evaluation (at www.courant.com/local) can't be accused of playing politics or taking sides in the war between the police union and the commanders.

The team found that state police at all levels dismissed evidence and discredited witnesses, often to cover up for colleagues. Troopers failed time and again to file reports against fellow troopers suspected of wrongdoing.

For example, supervisors failed to turn over to internal affairs an off-duty trooper who allegedly beat his girlfriend, tore her earlobe and then threatened her in front of another trooper. The off-duty trooper was never disciplined. The team's study calls the investigation of that incident "inexcusably inadequate."

A trooper accused of grinding his crotch against an airport worker tried to intimidate the woman during the investigation of that incident, she claimed. The crotch incident could not be substantiated; the intimidation claim was never investigated.

One trooper who was caught passed out in his car several times was never arrested for obvious drunken driving.

A sergeant who submitted false overtime claims of $5,227 received a light sentence of five days' suspension. Incredibly, he was allowed to keep the money. There was no criminal investigation.

Sadly, there are many more stories of police malfeasance. The team found "ineffective discipline" in "many other cases that were reviewed, including those of a possibly criminal nature."

Misconduct was dismissed or excused so often that the rare trooper who was investigated by internal affairs felt unfairly singled out. If anything, the command staff shielded their employees from discipline, letting them get away with serious misbehavior.

Such a scalding report impugns the integrity of a department with a distinguished history. Restoring the public's confidence and the state police's professionalism will require a stronger, autonomous internal affairs unit.

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Article sourced from

Hartford Courant - United Stat06 December 2006

Police Shield

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Hartford Courant - United Stat
06 December 2006