December 20, 2024
CHRIS LACHALL/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
A review of no-enforcement traffic stops by the New Jersey State Police by the state comptrolles office found that drivers who presented courtesy cards or professed to know someone in law enforcement were subject to less scrutiny and faced few penalties even when their driving endangered others.
Police courtesy cards and relations to law enforcement consistently helped drivers escape motor vehicle stops without penalties, even in instances of severe speeding and apparent impaired driving, a report issued Wednesday by the New Jersey Comptroller's Office found.
After reviewing 501 no-enforcement stops conducted by the New Jersey State Police over a 10-day period in 2022, the comptroller's office found drivers who presented courtesy cards or professed a familial or personal relationship with law enforcement were subject to lesser scrutiny and faced few penalties even when their driving endangered others.
"It's all because of who you know. It was stunning that drivers were so brazen and obvious about what they were doing. In many instances, their words or conduct made clear they knew they would be let go without any consequences, even when they had just committed a really dangerous driving offense," acting Comptroller Kevin Walsh told reporters Wednesday.
The report comes one week after Attorney General Matt Platkin announced his office is investigating reports that state troopers initiated a slowdown of traffic enforcement because they were upset about accusations that the agency racially profiled motorists.
The comptroller's investigation found courtesy cards or a driver's personal relationships resulted in preferential treatment in nearly 28% of the stops reviewed, including instances where drivers were nearly 40 mph over the speed limit, had been drinking, or committed violations that gave police little or no discretion to enforce the law.
In one instance, a driver who was going more than 90 mph and had been drinking was released without penalty after presenting a courtesy card to a state trooper, according to Walsh's office. The episode was caught on police body camera footage.
"I'm going to be straight up with you, man. I don't give a crap whose gold card this is. If you didn't have this, we'd be going a whole different way. I'd be hitting you with at least six (violations)," the trooper says in the video, adding, "Let's be real: You crash, there's going to be a f***ing problem."
In another instance, a woman drove at more than 100 mph, requiring the trooper to momentarily speed up to roughly 130 mph, but she was released without consequence after informing the trooper her father was a police lieutenant.
Walsh said eschewing enforcement in those instances made New Jersey roads more dangerous and gave problem drivers no reason to correct their behavior.
"Because her father is a lieutenant, a police officer, there are no consequences and there is no incentive to slow down," Walsh said.
Ties to police helped drivers escape penalties even in situations where troopers had little or no discretion to enforce the law, like when a driver's license is suspended or their insurance coverage or registration is expired, the comptroller's investigation found. In 40% of the stops reviewed by the comptroller's office, cops failed to request or review those credentials, and those instances did not break down evenly along racial lines.
In the cases reviewed, state troopers did not request all driving credentials from 44% of stops involving white and Asian drivers, compared to 30% for Black and Latino drivers, and troopers conducted more thorough computerized lookups on 65% of Latino drivers, compared to only 34% of white drivers.
Troopers seldom recorded their reasons for not enforcing traffic laws when presented with a courtesy card or a law enforcement relationship, even though they could quickly input such information into their vehicle's computer system or speak it aloud to be recorded by body cameras, according to Walsh's office.
The comptroller's review found only two instances where troopers provided their reasoning.
"There could be lots of examples why somebody may have driven in a certain way and a trooper or another police officer could elect not to enforce the law. We've said favoritism and nepotism shouldn't be on that list," Walsh said.
New Jersey statute lends no power to courtesy cards, which are issued by law enforcement unions or available for purchase online. They are "purely extralegal," Walsh said.
Wayne Blanchard and Steve Kuhn, respectively president and first vice president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey, did not immediately return a request for comment.
While two statutes prescribe penalties for issuing or displaying courtesy or membership cards in certain circumstances, those laws rely on hazy definitions and the by-laws and rules of private organizations that make them largely unenforceable, the report says.
Because the comptroller's office only examined stops that resulted in no penalties, it is unclear how often drivers who presented a courtesy card or disclosed relationships to law enforcement faced penalties, though the report notes one instance where a driver told police he was subject to penalties after presenting a courtesy card during a previous stop.
The comptroller recommended that the attorney general issue a directive explicitly barring police from considering drivers' relationships with law enforcement when exercising discretion and consider requiring statewide law enforcement leadership to monitor improperly preferential treatment extended to motorists.
The report urges the state police to expand its review of motor vehicle stops to include ones that result in no enforcement, including automatic supervisory reviews of no-enforcement stops initiated as a result of reckless driving.
It also says the New Jersey highway traffic safety division – an office overseen by the attorney general – should weigh whether to withholding federal funding from police jurisdictions that do not commit to equal enforcement regardless of a driver's relationship to law enforcement.
"This kind of preferential treatment isn't just unfair. It's dangerous. It undermines the idea that everyone should be treated equally under the law and puts everyone on the road at risk, including the troopers who have to respond to these incidents," Walsh said.
New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com.
