Sunday, July 16: Connecticut's Casual Corruption
Moral of this story: Never trust a police officer
A damning new audit found a “high likelihood” that hundreds of Connecticut state police troopers collectively falsified tens of thousands of traffic ticket records over much of the past decade. The report found there was a “high likelihood” that at least 25,966 tickets were falsified between 2014 and 2021. Another 32,587 records over those years showed significant inaccuracies and auditors believe many of those are likely to be false as well.
So in summary, a *QUARTER* (25% for you math whizzes) of all Connecticut state troopers wrote tens of thousands of fake tickets to fake white people, likely to hide over-policing of minorities. The audit findings, presented at a public meeting earlier this week, allege systemic violations of state law and that the misreporting skewed racial profiling data making it appear troopers ticketed more white drivers and fewer minority motorists than they really did.
Obviously both the number of tickets and the share of troopers is astounding, but not surprising in the slightest. These are the people we’re meant to believe are protecting and serving. A likely story.
Side Items
Shooting in Georgia: At least four people were killed in a mass shooting in Hampton, a small city in western Georgia, yesterday morning. The suspect is still at large, with a $10,000 reward being offered for any information leading to his arrest. A motive for the mass murder was not immediately clear, and I’m not sure what could possibly motivate someone to commit such an act
Toxic Kale: Turns out everyone’s favorite superfood might actually be killing us. A recent study found that seven out of eight US kale samples tested for toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” contained high levels of the compounds. The testing looked at conventional and organic kale bought at grocery stores across the country, and comes after Food and Drug Administration analyses conducted between 2019 and 2021 found no PFAS contamination.
Flash Floods in PA: A sudden flash flood swamped a southeastern Pennsylvania road, carrying several cars away and claiming at least three lives. Four other people, including a 9-month-old baby, remain missing. Local fire chief Tim Brewer told reporters that the area got about 6.5 - 7 inches of rain in just 45 minutes. This sort of sudden torrential downpour is becoming increasingly common, as the Northeast continues to battle heavy rains and flooding