by WorldTribune Staff, August 9, 2023

Police in Connecticut issued tens of thousands of false tickets to white people in order to give the appearance that whites are worse drivers than blacks and Hispanics, reports say.

The revelation was made in a report last week following an investigation last year by Hearst Connecticut Media Group which found that, in 2018, four state troopers had fabricated hundreds of traffic stop tickets.

In a review of more than 800,000 infractions submitted by 1,301 troopers to the state’s racial profiling data reporting program, stretching from 2014 to 2021, auditors at the University of Connecticut found that the overreporting and underreporting of traffic infractions went far beyond the four troopers first identified by internal affairs investigations and subsequent reporting, the CT Mirror reported.

In total, the audit found that 387 troopers and constables logged a “statistically significant” number of traffic stops that couldn’t be substantiated in at least one year of the audit.

The total number of false records could ultimately be as high as 60,000, the researchers said.

“This report suggests a historical pattern and practice among some troopers and constables of submitting infraction records that were likely false or inaccurate to the racial profiling system,” the researchers said.

“Overreported traffic infractions by state troopers were more likely to involve white-non Hispanic drivers while the underreported violations were more likely to include black or Hispanic motorists,” the report states.

Revolver News noted: “Had these officers targeted black drivers in the same way, they’d have likely been swiftly charged with a hate crime and thrown in the clink.”

Under the Alvin W. Penn Racial Profiling Act passed in 1999, Connecticut police are obligated to record and submit traffic stop data, including the reason for a search, the race, ethnicity, and gender of the person stopped, and whether the encounter resulted in an arrest.

According to the CT Mirror, the investigation centered around one group called Troop E.

“The audit comes to light nearly a year after Hearst Connecticut Media Group reported that four state troopers in Montville’s Troop E — Timothy Bentley, Noah Gouveia, Kevin Moore and Daniel Richter — fabricated hundreds of traffic stop tickets for better assignments, pay increases, promotions and specialty vehicles,” the report said.

While Troop E was the focus of the State Police’s internal investigations, it had the fifth-largest number of overreported records, according to the report.

Moore and Richter received 10-day and two-day suspensions, respectively, after the investigation, while Bentley and Gouveia retired. Richter then retired in 2021. The state’s Division of Criminal Justice has since opened a criminal investigation. The three retired troopers still receive monthly pensions, while Moore is still an active employee.

Revolver News added: “It only seems logical that Troops A, B, C, D, and the rest of the alphabet should undergo investigation to uncover who was truly in charge of this racist plot. As for the officers implicated, a tap on the wrist and retirement parties won’t suffice; their pensions should be revoked, and they must be held accountable through legal consequences for perpetrating this reprehensible and racist lie.”

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  Montville Troop E, Reports: CT police issued whites thousands of fake tickets to skew racial profiling stats, WorldTribune.com