New Jersey State Police hit with scathing reports on racial discrimination, handling of complaints

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin on Tuesday ordered a sweeping set of reforms for the State Police and took over some of the agency’s functions following two scathing investigations that revealed “deeply troubling conduct and systemic problems” within the force.

The recommendations, which Platkin said State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan has agreed to implement, follow two investigations by the Attorney General’s Office of Public Accountability and Integrity and a law firm hired by the state to review the agency’s employment practices.

The reports are just the latest controversy for the embattled agency, which is facing a federal investigation over racial and gender discrimination and which recently fired a Trooper who was found to have numerous tattoos associated with white supremacist organizations. The agency also spent a decade under federal supervision for alleged racial profiling 25 years ago.

In one recent case, a now-retired lieutenant in the force’s Office of Professional Standards, Joseph Nitti, received an anonymous complaint from a high-ranking Black member about a comment made by a friend of Nitti’s. Instead of investigating the allegation itself, Nitti “took unprecedented steps and squandered State resources” to figure out who authored the letter, then urged Internal Affairs to issue a finding against the alleged tipster for failing to report rumors of the racist comment.

On a group chat with other Troopers, Nitti also allegedly discussed a criminal investigation into a Trooper charged with sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl during a school sports trip, writing “Can we at least see a pic of her. I’d like to see what all the hubbub is about.” None of the other Troopers on the chain reported the comment; skipped initial interviews about it and later showed up to interviews with union-appointed lawyers; refused to turn over their phones; and gave “almost verbatim accounts … to justify Lt. Nitti's indefensible comments.”

Nitti retired in November 2023 and earns a monthly pension of $8,893, according to state records.

“The New Jersey State Police is a proud organization comprised of thousands of brave law enforcement professionals — but it is imperfect and must embrace change. These investigations found that there are favored members at the State Police, and some members hesitate to report discrimination or misconduct for fear of reprisals. This cannot continue,” Platkin said in a statement.

The Office of Public Integrity and Accountability investigation also found a “lack of confidentiality” in handling Internal Affairs materials and that some Troopers “are ‘protected’ or ‘favored’ … based on personal relationships to command staff that permit them to act with relative impunity.” According to the report, several witnesses — all minorities — said they were fearful to report Nitti’s alleged misconduct because they believed it would hurt their careers.

The office also reported a widespread perception among Troopers that the promotional process is easily manipulated to benefit “favored groups.” For instance, the office said that then-Det. Sgt. First Class Nitti had been in a unit in which he did not qualify for promotion to lieutenant. He was transferred to another unit with fewer candidates for promotion. He was promoted and then, after a year, transferred back to the previous unit as a lieutenant.

The investigation revealed evidence of a culture that sews distrust among members and works to protect the status quo, including instances of internal investigators using at times “extraordinary measures” to identify anonymous complainants.

The investigating law firm, Kaufman Dolowich LLP, interviewed about 150 Troopers, the majority of whom said they faced discrimination based on their race or gender. The report found that while the number of Troopers of color has doubled since the agency’s major racial profiling scandal 25 years ago, the agency still does not reflect New Jersey’s demographics and lacks diversity in its higher ranks.

The report also found Troopers believe Internal Affairs and Equal Employment Opportunity complaints have been “weaponized” to block promotions, and that they view the Division of Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action as a “joke.” Pregnant Troopers on leave were required to be at home from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and were subject to “integrity checks,” often at inconvenient times, and that there was no women’s locker room in the main State Police Headquarters building, forcing women Troopers who used the pool or gym to walk across the parking lot to get to their locker room.

In a press release, Platkin said the Department of Law and Public Safety will take over all human resources and equal employment opportunity functions from State Police control; embed staff from his Office of Law Enforcement Professional Standards within the State Police’s Office of Professional Standards; directed the State Police to restructure its academy training program; and evaluate the leadership of Troop A in southern New Jersey, where the law firm investigation found minority Troopers experienced “discrimination and a hostile work environment.”

Platkin also recommended requiring the State Police to inform the OPIA of all complaints made against its senior leadership and members of its Office of Professional Standards, develop an alternate mechanism for reporting misconduct, and to seek policies that “do not negatively impact pregnant and postpartum persons,” among other things.