Despite supposed reforms within the state police, troopers who report misconduct within their ranks are still putting their careers at risk.

All this was supposed to change after the release in 2006 of a joint investigation of the state police by the New York State Police and the Connecticut attorney general. That investigation, which was greatly aided by whistle-blower complaints, detailed botched investigations, systematic misconduct and the cover-up of abuses by troopers such as domestic violence and drunken driving.

Despite rewritten rules of conduct and a supposed crackdown on lax managers, not much has changed. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal outlined in a report last year what happened to one of the officers who cooperated with the investigation. Sgt. Andrew Matthews, a member of the internal affairs unit, was shifted to a mailroom and then to an office where troopers suspected of committing crimes were being interviewed. His movements were closely watched by the department’s top brass.

Read the Rest…