Speeders, Drinkers Escape Tickets By Name Dropping NJ Cops: Officials

NEW JERSEY — Lots of New Jersey drivers may be getting a free pass to violate serious traffic safety laws by claiming they’re supporters or family members of the police, a new report says.

On Wednesday, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) released the results of a recent investigation into hundreds of traffic stops made by New Jersey State Police troopers. View it online here.

The department reviewed bodycam footage taken over a 10-day period in December 2022, examining 501 “no-enforcement stops” where state troopers didn’t write a ticket or make an arrest. Watch the video footage below, or view it online here.

A bunch of drivers were pulled over for speeding, with some reaching triple digits on the radar gun. Some admitted to drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel, and others were spotted swerving back and forth across the road.

But nearly one in four were able to wriggle their way out of a ticket – or worse – by flashing a “courtesy card” or claiming to have a friend or relative in law enforcement, the comptroller’s office said.

Patch reached out to the New Jersey State Police seeking comment about the comptroller report. We will update this article with any reply we receive.

COURTESY CARDS

The OSC said that one driver was stopped for going over 90 miles per hour and admitted to drinking alcohol, but he was let go without a sobriety test after he presented two courtesy cards (also known as PBA cards, FOP cards or “gold cards”).

Courtesy cards – which were shown in 17 percent of the traffic stops – are given out by police labor associations to law enforcement officers. They also can be purchased through “associate memberships” with police associations and are sold by private companies. The comptroller’s office said they are often seen as “accepted currency” by state troopers, who almost always hand the card back to the holder.

Despite the prevalence of the courtesy cards in New Jersey – which could potentially reach into the “hundreds of thousands” – the full scope of their use is still “shrouded in secrecy,” the OSC said.

There are currently two statutes that regulate the cards, but they have large loopholes that make enforcement near-impossible, the report claimed:

“First, it is considered a disorderly persons offense to distribute an honorary membership or courtesy cards on behalf of an organization or association of law enforcement officers to individuals other than current and retired law enforcement officers or an individual who has performed outstanding or meritorious public service. But the standard for finding that someone has performed ‘meritorious public service’ remains undefined and subject to the organization’s interpretation. Second, subject to certain exceptions, it is a ‘misdemeanor’ (punishable by up to 60 days in jail) to display or use certain items including a ‘membership card,’ unless the possessor ‘is entitled to use and wear the same under the constitution, by-laws, rules, or regulations of any such association or organization.’ This suggests again that the regulations of the police organization would control who is permitted to use a courtesy card and contemplates that a prosecutor would bring criminal charges on that basis, which is highly unlikely.”

In one case, two troopers told a driver that he was seen going “well over 90 [mph]” for several miles. When he presented two courtesy cards – also admitting that he had “maybe two glasses” of booze – the officers let him leave without conducting a field sobriety test.

“If you didn’t have this, we would be going a whole different way,” one of the troopers told the driver, adding that he’d be hit with “at least six” violations without the gold card he possessed.

NAME DROP A COP

For other drivers, simply saying that you know a police officer – or are one yourself – is enough to get you off the hook, the comptroller’s office alleged.

In 52 of the no-enforcement stops reviewed, the driver or passengers didn’t present a courtesy card, but claimed to have a connection to law enforcement – and the trooper decided to let them go. In 29 of those stops, the motorist or passenger identified themselves as current, retired or in-training law enforcement officer.

During one stop, a trooper said he stopped a motorist for driving 97 miles per hour. After an extended conversation about the “friends” they had in common, the trooper told the driver to “stay safe” and let him go.

In another case, a motorist was stopped for driving over 103 miles per hour. She was released after telling the officer that her father was a lieutenant in a local police department, the report said.

In yet another stop, a trooper performed a computerized look-up of the driver's credentials and discovered the driver had an active warrant for his arrest. But when the driver’s friend introduced himself – letting the trooper know that he was also an off-duty trooper – the officer walked back to the motorist, apologized for stopping him and let him go without even mentioning the warrant, the report said.

Other highlights from the comptroller report include:

SPEEDING AND DRINKING – “Overall, close to half of the 501 non-enforcement stops reviewed by OSC involved speeding, many for more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. In three stops, drivers stopped for reckless driving, careless driving, and/or speeding, also admitted to drinking alcohol, yet were released without being asked to step out of the car for a field sobriety test.”

RACIAL DISPARITIES – “Providing preferential treatment to motorists who present courtesy cards or assert close personal relationships with law enforcement appears to have a discriminatory impact. Of the 87 courtesy cards observed in the sample, for instance, 69 were presented by White drivers. Even when courtesy cards were not present, racial disparities were observed in the sample. New Jersey State Police policy requires troopers to request all three driving credentials (license, registration, proof of insurance) when making motor vehicle stops, but OSC found overall, White and Asian drivers were less likely to have all three of their credentials requested and verified when compared to Black and Hispanic/LatinX drivers. Additionally, troopers conducted computerized lookups of Hispanic/LatinX drivers 65 percent of the time, while looking up White drivers only 34 percent of the time.”

PROFITING OFF COURTESY CARDS – “The lack of any regulation becomes even more concerning because … courtesy cards are being sold online, even outside of police organizations websites, and without any apparent restrictions. There does not appear to be any limit on how many courtesy cards someone could possess or purchase. There is nothing that removes courtesy cards from circulation, even when an officer is disciplined or terminated for misconduct, has retired or is deceased. In addition, some courtesy cards are being sold for profit. In one notable case, a courtesy card was sold for almost $2,000.”

The OSC made 11 recommendations to help correct the situation, including that New Jersey State Police regularly review no-enforcement stops to better understand racial/ethnic trends in motor vehicle data and determine if additional training is needed.

The OSC also recommended that the New Jersey attorney general consider issuing a directive that would explicitly prohibit law enforcement officers from giving preferential treatment to motorists because of their ties to law enforcement or possession of courtesy cards.

“Our investigation shows that some people are being given a free pass to violate serious traffic safety laws,” said acting state comptroller Kevin Walsh said.

“Law enforcement decisions should never depend on who you know, your family connections, or donations to police unions,” Walsh added. “Nepotism and favoritism undermine our laws and make our roads more dangerous.”

This week’s report from the comptroller’s office isn’t the only recent probe it has done into policing in New Jersey.

Last December, the agency released a list of 54 police agencies that allegedly spent taxpayer money on a “demeaning” and profanity-laden training conference, where the speakers allegedly taught unconstitutional policing tactics, glorified violence and insulted women and people of color. Read More: Sexism, Racism, Genital Jokes: 240 NJ Cops Attended Controversial Training, OSC Says

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