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NJ State Police agrees to reform after review finds 'systemic' problems
By
Nancy Solomon
Published Sep 24, 2024
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By
Nancy Solomon
Published Sep 24, 2024
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The New Jersey State Police will implement an array of reforms aimed at weeding out racism and sexism among the agency’s top ranks, following decades of federal investigations, complaints and discrimination lawsuits.
Two separate investigations found internal complaints made by troopers of color and women were “weaponized” against them. Now, the state attorney general's office of public integrity and accountability will handle all complaints filed against State Police senior staff.
“The New Jersey State Police is a proud organization comprised of thousands of brave law enforcement professionals — but it is imperfect and must embrace change,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a press release. “These investigations found that there are favored members at the State Police, and some members hesitate to report discrimination or misconduct for fear of reprisals. This cannot continue.”
Separate reviews — one by Platkin’s office, another by a law firm retained by the state — found troopers of color and women were underrepresented in the workforce and passed over for promotions. Women encountered problems when they took maternity leave. When they returned to work they often had nowhere to pump breast milk.
The report found that leaders in the agency who participated in retaliatory, racist or sexist internal investigations will be transferred out of the office of professional standards, the internal affairs unit.
“We cannot allow these problems to tarnish the honor and fidelity that so many men and women in this uniform live by,” said Col. Patrick Callahan, head of the State Police. “I am committed to working with Attorney General Platkin and his team to implement these necessary reforms.”
Platkin’s review also found egregious breakdowns in professionalism. In one case detailed in the report, an officer was under investigation for engaging in “sexual misconduct” with a 14-year-old girl. On a text chain with colleagues from the office investigating the charges, Lt. Joseph Nitti wrote, “Can we at least see a pic of her. I’d like to see what all the hubbub is about.”
The report says none of the other troopers on the text chain “objectifying the alleged child victim” reported the misconduct, and all will be transferred out of the department, Platkin said.
Nitti told investigators he’d texted the comment as part of his investigation, according to documents. He said he needed to know whether the girl appeared to be older than she actually was. The report notes that is not legally relevant. Nitti retired, and the state attorney general’s office wrote it would have recommended he be fired.
The State Police was investigated in the late 1990s for racial profiling on the New Jersey Turnpike and, then again, for charges of racism within its ranks.
“Nearly a decade after the NJSP reformed its promotional process to one that is more structured and objective, the agency still lacks diversity in its higher ranks,” the report said.
Platkin’s reforms include requiring anonymous reporting of any misconduct within the State Police, changing the hiring and promotion process and moving to hire more women and troopers of color, “so that the demographics of the NJSP will better reflect the diversity of the state it serves.”
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new jersey
Race And Justice Unit
Nancy Solomon
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