Northeast
Obama-era prosecutor's probe into blue state police racial bias claims called 'untenable' for troopers
New Jersey State Police were facing accusations of racial profiling before a report revealed a sharp decline in traffic stops that coincided with a rise in crashes, some of them fatal.
Now they’re facing a special counsel investigation from the state attorney general’s office, leaving troopers in a difficult position as they try to protect the public as well as their own careers amid intense scrutiny that advocates see as anti-police.
“If you enforce traffic laws, crashes go down. If you do not enforce them, crashes go up,” said Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association who spent three decades on the job. “Accidents are largely created by a disparity in speed, and unless we want to admit that, then we’re going to fix it.”
State troopers were accused of profiling minority drivers in a report from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability that looked at stops between 2009 and 2021. Then they were told by union leaders that every stop they made would go under the microscope, according to a New York Times report. For months, they made fewer stops than normal.
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New Jersey State Police conduct a roadside operation in an undated photo shared on the department’s X account. (New Jersey State Police/X)
A subsequent drop in traffic stops coincided with an 18% increase in crashes, some of which took lives, according to the paper, citing public records. The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The American public is going to have to decide, what do you want? Do you want cops to enforce the law, or do you want somebody here to adhere to some sort of manufactured or false or politically correct policy when it comes to enforcing the law?” Brantner Smith said. “It is a very untenable situation for the troopers, and frankly, it’s an untenable situation for the citizens.”
Days after the Times report, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced an investigation into how the matter “was orchestrated” and vowed accountability.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin speaks during a press conference at the Justice Department on March 21, 2024. Last month, Platkin tapped Preet Bharara, the Obama-era U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to lead a special counsel probe into allegations of misconduct against the New Jersey State Police. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
“I am deeply disappointed that this well-deserved reputation for serving the public good has been tainted by the alleged and unprecedented slowdown in State Police traffic enforcement from approximately July 2023 to March 2024,” Platkin said in a statement announcing the special counsel probe. “I am particularly concerned that this slowdown may have coincided with increased crashes and fatalities on our roadways.”
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He appointed Preet Bharara, the Obama-era U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former lawyer for Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer, as special counsel overseeing the probe.
A New Jersey State Police vehicle (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)
Bharara, in a statement, said he was “deeply honored” by the appointment and pledged to “conduct a fair and rigorous investigation.”
Platkin said the investigation would not interfere with cooperation between his office and state police, agencies that are often required to work together to fulfill their purpose. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has been appointed to lead a special investigation into New Jersey state troopers. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)
The state report, which analyzed traffic stops between 2009 and 2021, accused troopers of “enforcement practices that result in adverse treatment towards minority motorists.”
Branter Smith, however, downplayed concerns of profiling leading to the stops. More than 60% of the people pulled over were White drivers. Just under 19% were Black and around 13.5% were Hispanic.
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New Jersey State Police troopers stand guard in front of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Jan. 1, 2020. (Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images)
“Even during the day, when you’re sitting in traffic or you’re driving down the freeway, can you see the race of the person in front of you unless you pull up beside them?” she said. “And radar, when we’re talking about primarily speeding violations, radar doesn’t have a race setting.”
State police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Separately, state troopers were accused of giving preferential treatment to drivers who have friends and family in law enforcement, according to the New Jersey Comptroller’s Office. In about 27% of 500 traffic stops over a 10-day span in 2022, drivers who either showed a badge, a “courtesy card” or told the officer that they came from a law enforcement family were let go. The comptroller’s office also found that troopers ran “computer lookups” on Hispanic drivers almost twice as often as White drivers.
Brantner Smith likened the state reports and investigations to a backdoor campaign against police.
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“The public knows this, undoubtedly, that the police have been cut off at the knees,” she told Fox News Digital. “This is just a very soft way to be anti-police. It’s almost a way to defund the police without defunding, without talking about defunding them, without making anti-police statements publicly.”
Despite the pressure campaign, she said criminal charges against state police as a result of the special counsel investigation seem like a long shot based on how the Supreme Court has ruled on what police are responsible for.
“The most ridiculous part of this is the criminal investigation,” she added. “The most horrific part of it are these additional accidents.”
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Here’s why flags are flown at half-staff or half-mast
Flags in the U.S. are typically flown at half-mast or half-staff after certain events or holidays.
Flags are flying at half-staff across Pennsylvania today after Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered them lowered statewide to honor Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty in Schuylkill County.
Shapiro ordered flags fly half-staff at Pennsylvania facilities, public buildings and grounds — the United States flag and Pennsylvania flag — to honor Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty in Schuylkill County.
Pahira died after being struck by a tractor-trailer while conducting a commercial vehicle inspection along Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County, authorities said. A Massachusetts truck driver has since been charged in the crash, and flags will remain at half-staff until the date of Pahira’s interment, which has not yet been announced.
Why are flags at half-staff today in Pennsylvania?
Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered flags across Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff in honor of Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty July 1. The order applies to Commonwealth facilities, public buildings and grounds statewide and remains in effect until his interment.
What’s the difference between half-staff and half-mast?
The difference between a flag flying at half-staff and half-mast depends on where the flag is flown. In the United States, flags on land are lowered on staffs, while half-mast traditionally refers to flags flown from ships and at naval stations ashore.
Who was Trooper Michael Pahira?
Pahira was a Schuylkill County native and nearly 20-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, authorities said. He enlisted in January 2007 and was assigned to Troop L in Frackville as a Motor Carrier Inspector. He was 44 years old and became the 106th member of the Pennsylvania State Police to die in the line of duty.
What happened to Trooper Michael Pahira?
State police said Pahira was conducting a commercial vehicle inspection along Interstate 81 southbound in Schuylkill County when a second tractor-trailer left the roadway and struck his marked patrol vehicle and the truck he was inspecting before hitting him. Both commercial vehicles caught fire after the crash. Pahira was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities said a Massachusetts truck driver has since been charged with homicide by vehicle in connection with the crash.
How long will flags be lowered?
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered US and Pennsylvania flags fly half-staff today and through the date of interment, or the burial or entombment of Pahira following his funeral.
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based reporter covering trending news with USA TODAY Network’s Mid-Atlantic Connect Team. She covers news in the Northeast, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Reach her at LComstock@usatodayco.com.
Rhode Island
Exclusive | Not everyone’s happy about Taylor Swift’s MSG wedding, as Rhode Island residents are left at altarÂ
Not everyoneâs happy about Taylor Swiftâs marriage to Travis Kelce being at MSG
Reports previously speculated that Swift and her fiance were going to tie the knot on June 13 at the posh Ocean House hotel in tony Watch Hill, the Rhode Island, where Swift famously owns a home.
The “Shake It Off” singer even allegedly cut a major check to another bride-to-be who’d booked her wedding at the venue. But it was revealed that the pop star and the NFL star changed the location to accommodate more people… and are now getting hitched at the much less intimate Madison Square Garden.
You’d think that residents of Watch Hill would be relieved to avoid the attendant media circus and other headaches that would descend on the intimate enclave. But it turns out they’re bummed the nups won’t be in their proverbial backyard. In fact, more than one Watch Hill regular told us on Wednesday that they were disappointed Swift had changed venues.
The wedding would’ve also been a boon to the local economy, they said.
“Taylor has done a very good job of endearing herself here, and not being a jerk,” bluntly summed up a longtime Watch Hill habitué.
An insider added, “Taylor is a very good neighbor, and a very good member of the community. [She and her family] shop locally and go out of their way not to create problems — she has her own home with her own security. She’s really truly not an inconvenience to anyone.”
“In terms of the wedding, from a financial point of view, even the town next door, Westerly, they were going to get a little economic boom. Or at least a bump!” a source said.
As for the supposed previous wedding venue, “The local hotel, Ocean House, would make an enormous amount of money from the wedding,” said a source.
Then again, they added, “A regular room with the taxes goes right up against $2K a night. Thatâs like the regular room. Bottles of water are $18.”
Page Six has reported that Swift’s wedding will last 10 hours and include 1,000 guests!
On the wedding day, doors open for guests at 3:30 p.m., with cocktails beginning at 4 p.m. on the sixth-floor concourse at MSG. The ceremony will then start at 5:30 p.m. on the arena floor.
The night before, there will be a more intimate rehearsal dinner for just 100 guests at the arenaâs Infosys Theater on Thursday.
Some Watch Hill types were left wondering how their town, which one inhabitant described as being “two city blocks,” could have handled that influx.
“The real locals were just a little concerned about just having access to their lives… They thought the whole place was going to be shut, including the streets, and how would they get in and out, etc.”
Emergency crews were searching for a young girl and a man reported missing at Arrowhead Mountain Lake in northern Vermont on Wednesday night.
Vermont State Police said they responded to the lake in the Franklin County town of Georgia shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday along with multiple emergency crews.
The incident was first reported around 7:50 p.m. near the intersection of Highbridge Road, also known as Route 104A, and Arrowhead Lake Road. Initial reports indicated that a group of relatives were fishing along the shore when a young girl fell into the water and a man jumped in to try to rescue her. Neither person has been seen since.
A search was underway Wednesday night on the water near where the Lamoille River empties into the lake. Agencies involved include fire departments from Fairfax, Georgia and Milton, Colchester Technical Rescue, Fairfax Rescue and multiple components of the Vermont State Police.
Search crews planned to remain on scene as long as conditions permitted Wednesday night, returning as needed first thing Thursday morning.
No additional were released. State police said they will provide updates as the search continues.
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