NAACP calls for removal of New Jersey State Police superintendent in response to scathing report
PLAINSBORO, N.J. — The NAACP is calling for the removal of the man who runs the New Jersey State Police after the state attorney general released a scathing report about the institution.
NAACP New Jersey State Conference President Richard Smith says the recent report exposed the underbelly of the New Jersey State Police.
"The report and the memo released by Attorney General Platkin is not news to us," Smith said.
The state-funded investigations highlighted discriminatory hiring practices and found that the internal affairs process was weaponized against some troopers. The attorney general recommended policy reforms.
Advocates call for reform throughout New Jersey State Police
Smith is calling for Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy to fire State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan and his top deputy.
"Because we don't believe that either can fulfill the recommendations that you or the law firm that did the investigation have suggested," Smith said.
Smith says the bias in hiring practices is highlighted by a lack of diversity in the state trooper ranks. Right now, there are a little more than 3,300 state troopers in New Jersey. According to the NAACP, only about 6% of them are Black.
Advocates spoke to reporters Friday in Plainsboro, calling for reform throughout the department.
"If you don't have a systemic change in policing, it's not just the person at the top, but you need to have a systemic change throughout the ranks," said former NYPD lieutenant Darrin Porcher.
"The deconstruction and reconstruction of racist police forces is the strong medicine that is required to deal with a seemingly intractable problem," said Lawrence Hamm, with the People's Organization for Progress.
Murphy said the state police must make meaningful reforms but did not respond to the calls for firing the superintendent.
CBS News New York reached out to the New Jersey State Police for a response but did not hear back.