Governor Ned Lamont announced this week that based on a recent audit that revealed a troubling number of erroneous records in the Connecticut State Police records management system and the State of Connecticut’s traffic stop racial profiling database, he is commissioning an independent review.
The goal of the independent review is to determine how and why the misconduct occurred, why it went undetected for so many years, and what reforms should be implemented to ensure it won’t happen again.
The review will also determine whether changes to the IT platforms or training materials could prevent mistaken entries.
The Governor’s office has engaged former US Attorney for the District of Connecticut Deirdre M. Daly, an attorney at Finn Dixon and Herling LLP, to conduct the investigation.
Ms Daly and her team will interview troopers, constables, and others who may have relevant information.
Anyone wishing to contact Ms. Daly may do so confidentially by filling out the form online at fdh.com/confidentialform or calling 800-711-6348.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the results will be shared with the public.
“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 Colonel Stavros Mellekas said in a statement on Wednesday. “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 investigation team has informed the governor that they anticipate their review will take at least three to six months to complete, however at this early stage it is difficult to give an exact estimate. The timing of the investigation is largely dependent on how many people will need to be interviewed and how cooperative these witnesses will be in the interview process.
Connecticut maintains one of the nation’s most robust racial profiling data collection and analysis programs. However, the recent audit by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project found that members of the Connecticut State Police overreported at least 26,000 racial profiling records (3.2%) between 2014 to 2021 and underreported at least 16,000 records (2.4%) 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.
The investigation’s recommendations will augment seven reforms recommended by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project, which the Connecticut State Police have implemented or are in the process of implementing.