HARTFORD, Conn — The Connecticut State Police Union has voted "no confidence" in State Police Commissioner James Rovella and in Deputy Commissioner Colonel Stavros Mellekas in an emergency meeting held Thursday.
The union told Rovella in a letter informing him of the decision that he "fostered an environment of mistrust" and that he and Mellekas have "failed to protect their Troopers and made decisions based on self-preservation."
"How could anyone work for a Commissioner and Colonel who choose their own survival over standing up for due process and the good men and women that risk their lives for the State of Connecticut?" the letter asked.
The Commissioner also received a "no confidence" vote from the State Police Lieutenants and Captains Union last month. It matches a no-confidence vote taken in 2020 by a separate union representing the rank and file.
FOX61 reached out to Connecticut State Police about the vote and they said they had no comment at this time.
This stems from controversy over a traffic ticket scandal, where data was falsified to skew racial statistics. Evidence suggests that as many as 58,500 records may have been falsified over the last decade.
An audit in June showed troopers falsified information on at least 26,000 traffic stops from 2014 to 2021. Data analysts with the University of Connecticut said the reports resulted in too many drivers being identified as white. They cautioned, however, that they did not try to determine whether the records were intentionally falsified or were wrong because of carelessness or human error. Lamont says an independent investigation is needed to learn what happened and prevent it from happening again. Lamont has appointed former U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly to lead the investigation, which is expected to take up to six months.
After internal affairs investigations, one trooper was suspended for 10 days, another was suspended for two days and the other two retired before the probe was completed.
The audit found the number of false traffic infractions reported to the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project advisory board didn’t match those reported to the state court system, which handles all traffic citations. The false tickets also more often identified drivers as being white.
The UConn analysts determined 130 troopers — 62 retirees and 68 active duty — had more than eight traffic stops in a single year that didn’t match court records and which accounted for 20% of their reported motor vehicle infractions. That represents about 10% of the department.
Rovella said one trooper decided to identify more than 90% of the people he stopped as Native American/Alaskan Native.
As many as 300 troopers may have been involved, according to the Racial Profiling Prohibition Project, which uncovered the fraud.
The allegations are so serious that five separate investigations have been launched and pressure is mounting for Rovella to step aside.
In the CSP Union letter, they recommend Rovella and Mellekas resign from their positions or for Gov. Ned Lamont to find a replacement.
Lawmakers FOX61 spoke with in July didn’t want to weigh in on if Rovella should resign, saying it’s a decision between him and the Governor.
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