attorney general Matt platkin today confirmed his office has launched an investigation into an 8-month slowdown in State Police traffic enforcement that began immediately following the release of a state report showing racial disparities in the drivers troopers were pulling over plankin is tapping former US attorney general for the southern district of New York prit barara to oversee the investigation a recent New York Times investigation uncovered the DraStic cutback in enforcement which appears to have also coincided with an uptick in fatal traffic accidents it's not the first time the state police has come under Fire in recent years the department spent much of the 2000s under a consent decree with the doj because of alleged racial bias following a 1998 New Jersey Turnpike shooting incident when Troopers opened fire on four black and brown men during a routine traffic stop James jro was the deputy attorney general at the time and appointed as special prosecutor in the case he says 26 years later some practices appear to remain the same he joins me now James D I'm glad to have uh your time today you know when we think back to the 1998 shooting that seemed to be a turning point in public perception um of these incidents but why do you think systemic reform within the state police has been so hard to implement even after high-profile events like that one and the ones that have continued I think uh the major problem with the state police is a lack of diversity within the state police you're talking really about a an organization that's composed of white males and um back in the 90s there was essentially it was institutional racism it was uh carried on by the by the road Troopers and it was uh not in any way challenged by those who were supervising it what I'm seeing from that report that gave rise to the Troopers deciding not to write uh tickets not to engage in motor vehicle stops um is precisely that that this white organization uh implicit bias is there and unfortunately it's coming out in their motor vehicle stops and searches so so you think this is deepr rooted and we should note the union leaders in that report from the New York Times you know contested that and said that they would never direct Troopers not to do their jobs but you're saying this is Dee rooted and that's why even with the number of reforms that have been proposed um we're not seeing things radically change uh we uh we're not and U I don't think we will um until such time as the state police um change um their their structure and their diversity I know that they over the years have indicated that they've tried to recruit uh women people of color uh but sadly uh that hasn't happened from a legal perspective I mean you were appointed special prosecutor on this how effective was the consent decree and the steps that have been taken um the the one very very good thing that came out of this and I only wish we had it in 1998 was uh the advance of mobile video records at body camps um that investigation back then uh from time of uh the incident to indictment was like 16 months um if we had cameras we could have included that investigation within a very very short time no later than six months quite frankly it was uh clearly carried on to inter um illegal Contraband drugs in particular on the New Jersey Turnpike uh as it was the part of the uh uh two or the 95 uh roadway that uh drugs traffic from the south uh to the Northeast and that was the uh major uh emphasis in uh State policing at that time one of the things you can look at is the uh the highest best award that Troopers have or Road Troopers and other members of the organization is Trooper of the year and if you look at the 90s uh all virtually all the Troopers of the year were people who were uh interdicting drugs most of them came from Troop D on the New Jersey turd flight that's the troop that patrols that and guard State Parkway James D uh so much more that we could get into but we have to leave it there thanks for your time my pleasure and nice to meet you [Music]