Quota Time: Connecticut Troopers May Have Faked 1000s of Citations
As if tagging drivers in a questionable speed trap wasn’t enough, it is being alleged troopers in the Nutmeg State have falsified thousands of traffic tickets.
According to local media, an audit stemming from an internal investigation has apparently uncovered a scheme in which troopers faked upwards of 26,000 tickets over a seven-year period. That’s cause enough for concern but compounded by the allegation that these actions were taken in order to line their own pockets since so-called ‘productive’ troopers are seemingly eligible for federally funded overtime pay.
That sound you hear is lawmakers and the public alike clamoring for answers.
For bringing this shameful practice to light, it seems we can thank one Ken Barone, a person who toils as an associate director at the University of Connecticut. His profile on the school’s website says he is responsible for coordinating data collection and submission from over a hundred law enforcement agencies while also working as a “fair and impartial” police trainer with over 800 students under his tutelage in the past decade. He pushed for the audit which uncovered these allegedly fake tickets.
How the scheme played out hasn’t been made crystal clear to the public at this point, though Barone told local news there’s “no evidence these are real people,” when speaking about the fake tickets. Depending on the details added to the bogus citations, there could also have been a skewing of data about racial profiling and other demographical information. It’s no secret that those holding the levers of power sometimes look to such statistics when planning new roadways or adjusting speed limits, for example.
One officer has already been suspended over the schmozzle, and Governor Ned Lamont is calling for more heads to roll. “It’s also very clear at this point that federal authorities are looking into this as well,” Lamont said to the media. “Not just the troopers who did it, but the supervisors who allowed this to happen, or perhaps encouraged it.” Lawmakers are holding a hearing on July 27 about this scandal. We plan to stay tuned.
[Image: Ford]
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Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.
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I hate the arrow on the side of the page. Twice I've written a long comment and, while trying to close the video window, accidentally clicked something that led to a new page and pressing BACK did not restore the comment, i.e., it was deleted.
Police forces should be prohibited from using traffic citations as officer performance metrics, and the fine money that results from traffic citations should be put back into state and local general funds where taxes paid by the taxpayers are reduced by the same amount.
Take away financial gains from traffic citations and fraud and abuse will go away.