Global Courant
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont on Monday ordered an independent investigation into state police following an audit last month that found troopers falsified information on at least 26,000 traffic stops from 2014 to 2021.
University of Connecticut data analysts said the reports led to too many drivers being identified as white. However, they cautioned that they were not trying to determine whether the data was deliberately falsified or wrong due to carelessness or human error.
Lamont originally asked the Connecticut state attorney’s office to investigate the discrepancies, saying there was no evidence of willful misconduct.
NEW HAMPSHIRE OFFICER LOSES BADGE TO FAKE TRAFFIC ALERTS
But on Monday, the governor said an independent investigation is needed to “get to the bottom of this and find out how it happened, why it happened and how to prevent it from ever happening again.”
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, seen in this file photo in his office in Hartford, has ordered an independent investigation into state law enforcement over the alleged massive falsification of traffic control reports. (Brad Horrigan/Hartford Courant/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The governor’s office said it has appointed Deirdre Daly, a former US attorney for Connecticut, to lead the investigation.
ANN ARBOR, MI POLICE STOP MOST TRAFFIC STOPS FOR MINOR VIOLATION
She and her team have indicated that their review could take up to six months or more, depending on the number of people to be interviewed and the level of cooperation the study receives, Lamont said.
Colonel Stavros Mellekas of the Connecticut State Police said he has ordered all state forces to cooperate with the investigation.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Police statewide, including local departments, are mandated to submit traffic stop data to the state, under Connecticut’s 1999 law aimed at preventing racial profiling. The Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at Central Connecticut State University analyzes the data and submits periodic reports showing that officers disproportionately stopped black and Hispanic drivers compared to white motorists.
