Lawmakers pressed for answers Wednesday in a hearing on a recent Connecticut State Police traffic stop audit.
The Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project conducted the audit and discovered state police troopers over reporting at least 26,000 traffic records and underreported at least 16,000 traffic records.
“Being in the position that I am does not preclude me from having the same reaction as members of the public, I’m shocked,” Democratic state Senator Gary Winfield said.
He expects more from the men and women on the state police force, adding, “What I expect is not to hear those numbers, what I expect is not to see this in effect.”
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But Winfield said he is reserving full judgement until all investigations are concluded.
A sentiment his colleagues across the isle, echo.
“The audit is an audit of data, it tells a story, it doesn’t tell the story, Republican State Rep. Greg Howard said.
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He too believes all investigations need to be completed before the public and lawmakers make a judgement.
“Are these discrepancies nefarious, are they human error, is it a system error, is it an error in the data collection itself?" Howard said.
Representatives from the Connecticut State Police, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and the state police union all attended, defending the integrity of the state’s troopers.
“I don’t know how you can prove based on data, what someone’s intent was, until you ask them the question," Andrew Matthews with the Connecticut State Police Union said.
But all parties did agree, if there was intention behind the falsification of traffic records, there have to be consequences.
“I have to tell you I have no tolerance for those that abuse the system," said James Rovella, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
Governor Ned Lamont has requested an independent investigation be launched into the audits findings.
Rovella is also expecting a Federal Department of Justice Investigation to be launched in the coming weeks.
