Good morning. A key Connecticut legislative committee will meet next Wednesday, July 26, to determine how to respond to an audit that found that state police troopers falsified almost 26,000 tickets.
The Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project found that over 300 state troopers submitted false or inaccurate tickets between 2014 and 2021. The false records showed troopers ticketed more white drivers than non-white drivers — underreporting drivers of color.
Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin is investigating the false ticket scandal. Authors of the audit Ken Barone and Matthew Ross suggest the total number of falsified records is likely larger than reported.
The project says the scandal has also made them consider doing random audits of town and city police departments.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
A $220 million Nassau County budget received preliminary approval to help repair sinkholes and a damaged police station. Included in the budget is $15 million for repairing sewer damage from sinkholes in Baldwin. Almost $34 million would be used to rebuild Nassau’s Second Police Precinct in Woodbury after a kitchen fire destroyed the building in November. The budget requires approval from the county legislature and the Interim Finance Authority before repairs begin.
Over 200 guns were recovered from the Massapequa Park home of Rex Heuermann, who was arrested last week for several of the Gilgo Beach murders. Investigators say they can link him to the murders through burner phone data and DNA found on a pizza crust. Heuermann was charged with the death of three women killed in 2010.
The former head of Bridgeport's School Board dropped a defamation lawsuit against his long-time rival. John Weldon sued Joseph Sokolovic for calling his resignation from the board in 2022 a “disgrace” and criticized him for “ineptitude." Weldon sought at least $15,000 in damages. A judge dismissed the case after Sokolovic’s attorney argued the suit infringed his right to criticize a public figure.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo paid $6.7 million to lawyers in sexual harassment lawsuits, according to state Board of Elections filings released on Monday. In 2021, 11 women claimed Cuomo sexually harassed them, which led him to resign as governor. Cuomo denies the allegations. He will attempt to recover lost funds with the state reimbursing some of the millions of dollars based on a court decision.
A New Haven resident is suing the city and six police officers for the wrongful conviction for the 1994 murder of an infant. Adam Carmon was charged with the murder of 7-month old Danielle Taft and spent nearly 30 years in prison. He was released from prison last year. Carmon claimed the officers fabricated evidence and the city violated his constitutional rights.
Connecticut State Police suspended a long-serving trooper for allegedly violating department policy. Christopher Melanson worked for the state’s Traffic Services Unit since 2006. Further information for why Melanson was suspended is currently unavailable. Police said, however, that this is not related to the scandal wherein hundreds of police officers issued false tickets.
Immigrant rights groups are suing the Nassau County Police Department for the lack of providing proper translation services. LatinoJustice and the Central American Resource Center filed the lawsuit in response to a police officer refusing to offer a translator for a Spanish-speaking woman despite a department policy requiring officers to help non-native English speakers. Over 418,000 county residents speak a language other than English.
Wesleyan University will end legacy admissions following the Supreme Court’s decision to outlaw affirmative action admissions. University President Michael Roth announced that legacy admissions played only a minor role in the admission process. The university primarily accepted students based on their educational merit and community experiences. He said multi-generational students are still highly valued at the school but they will no longer have a beneficial boost through admissions.
A series of laws in Connecticut will protect reproductive rights. Governor Ned Lamont signed the laws Wednesday in response to states across the country restricting reproductive freedoms after Roe v. Wade’ was overturned. The state laws will protect medical providers from adverse actions taken by other states, allow pharmacists to prescribe birth control, increase reproductive care access to college students at public institutions, and protect the privacy of patient health data online.
