Gov. Lamont orders independent review following state police traffic ticket scandal

Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday announced he is commissioning an independent review following the state police traffic ticket scandal that recently came to light.

Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Deirdre M. Daly, who now serves as an attorney at Finn Dixon and Herling LLP., has been tapped to conduct the investigation after a recent audit found that Connecticut State Police troopers wrote nearly 26,000 falsified tickets that may have skewed racial profiling data.

“I have ordered a comprehensive and independent investigation of possible misconduct by the Connecticut State Police based on the information brought to light by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project,” Lamont said in a statement Monday. “I have great faith in the overwhelming majority of our troopers, and to protect public confidence in them we must get to the bottom of this and learn how it happened, why it happened, and how to prevent it from ever happening again. I am glad that someone with Deirdre Daly’s experience and credibility has agreed to undertake this important work.”

Lamont on Monday said the independent investigation will look to answer a slew of questions, including “how and why this misconduct occurred, why it went undetected for so many years, and what reforms should be implemented to ensure that such misconduct does not reoccur.” The review will also determine whether changes to the IT platforms or training materials could prevent mistaken entries.

Lamont encouraged anyone wishing to contact Daly regarding the investigation to do so confidentially by filling out an online form or calling 1-800-711-6348.

“It is critical that Connecticut residents have trust in the state police, just as it is critical that troopers earn that trust each and every day,” Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella said in a statement. “I am confident that this investigation and the resulting recommendations will make good on our commitment to building trust between law enforcement personnel and the local communities in which they serve.”

“I have issued an order today to all state troopers instructing them to cooperate with the investigation and come forth with relevant information,” Connecticut State Police Col. Stavros Mellekas added in the statement issued by Lamont’s office. “The Connecticut State Police takes this matter very seriously, and we have already instituted several reforms based on the recently released audit. We look forward to continuing that work. We welcome this investigation and will cooperate fully.”

The independent investigation is expected to take anywhere from three to six months or possibly longer. Lamont’s office on Monday said the results will not be shared with the public until it has been completed.

State officials said Connecticut “maintains one of the nation’s most robust racial profiling data collection and analysis programs.” Though, the recent audit by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project discovered that troopers overreported at least 26,000 racial profiling records between 2014 to 2021, and underreported at least 16,000 records from 2015 to 2021. Although the total number of erroneous records and troopers with significant discrepancies declined each year, the report found that some troopers continued to have a significant number of over and underreported records as late as at least 2021.