Femail Trooper's First Day of Training

Thank you Navy for concerning the safety of state police troopers who patrol the media the use of two troopers promotor vehicle on patrol and the use of a bulletproof vest by state troopers on patrol. Obviously any other pertinent testimony or information that anyone desires to give to the committee this morning will be gratefully received and appreciated. Our first witness this morning is. Our attorney general. Gentleman good morning Mr. General. Glad to have you with us and appreciate your taking time with his schedule to be with us this morning. Morning Mr. Chairman members of the committee. I appear here this morning at your invitation. Obviously in response to the shock and sense of revulsion experienced by every decent citizen of New Jersey upon learning of the senseless and brutal murder of state trooper Carlos Negron while patrolling New Jersey Turnpike on the

morning of Monday May 7 1984 a justifiable cause has been raised for public officials to take whatever steps may be necessary to pro tect our dedicated troopers from this kind of unprovoked. And vicious attack. All of us. From Governor Kaine on down have the utmost concern for the safety and welfare of these brave troopers who daily put their very lives on the line. For the safety of our citizens and in our defense against lawlessness that concern of ours for their well-being extends to their families as well. The question is how that concern for their safety is being carried out and how best that concern might be further implemented in the future. Currently there are a total of seven hundred sixty troopers assigned to general patrol

duties throughout the state covering the highways the interstate routes and the toll roads. Many protective measures in December of 1981 in August of 1982 following the magnanimous and generous donation of a concerned deeply moved and publicly spirited citizen with the help of the legislature additional vests were purchased and issued to the entire force their use is highly recommended le Monaco was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of his shooting trooper and a gran was not. All state police members were trained to use and were issued a new 9 millimeter semiautomatic handguns been issued. Two man patrol units are generally being utilized. Should the use of bulletproof vests

technically referred to by the professionals as body armor be made mandatory bulletproof vests are now readily available to all law enforcement units nationwide. They are not infallible but are most definitely a valuable item of equipment. Their use can be cumbersome and at times uncomfortable. I know of no jurisdiction in this country which requires the mandatory use of bulletproof vests. Here I would welcome myself the input of professionals and those in the field on the front lines so to speak before making a recommendation to this committee as to their required use. You will also ask should the utilization of two man patrols be

further implemented on our interstate and toll roads. The answer to the question in my considered judgment turns on whether round the clock use of two manned patrols will result in a positive and concrete enhancement of the safety factor for our troopers. The record will show that the incidence of shootings involving troopers on our highways have been the acts of fanatics and terrorists hell bent on carrying out their ghastly attacks without regard to the consequences to themselves. I pose the question Would such Mad Men or women in the case of Joanne Chesimard be dissuaded from their murderous intent by the presence of another or even a third or a fourth trooper.

Or would we however well-intentioned be doing a disservice to our troopers under such circumstances. As the attorney general. I do not profess to be an expert in these matters. The state police are a highly trained para military type organization. They are headed by an experienced professional. And expert in his field in whom I have every confidence. Our superintendent is devoted. To the men and women under his charges. It is best to be achieved is a matter to be decided by reasonable. And rational deliberation after dispassionate consideration of all partment fact the carnal. A full report and recommendation. And until that report is received. Mr. Chairman and given due consideration

by me as the head of the Department of Law and Public Safety I cannot take a position a formal position on this matter. Colonel Pagano sits with me at my right and I think he will be able to supply you with more details than I have. From now the Colonel. And the state police. However it's my opinion and I don't speak for the committee. They were made to have their own opinions. At least it's my opinion that as quickly as we can come up with some answers to better the state police will be the better state New Jersey will be as a result of that and I certainly understand that the integrity of Colonel began when the state police cannot be questioned. They were without

any reservation as far as I'm concerned. One of the if not the best policing unit in the United States. Obviously I do have some concerns and the committee will have some questions to address to you and the colonel what I might suggest to the committee members in view of the fact that we do have Colonel that began to present at this time that we might take nearly she. Why should any of you have my money. I might if I might interrupt for one moment and this is a serious committee meeting you know you were aware of that. But there are times in our lives and some nice things happened I think your problem. A lot more concern than anyone else could be here serving over issues like. Doesn't you know has been introduced here. Justin is a long time member Slater leads a number three second lives and he has approximately six months

unless by which time and I have. More of the device I thought of. Area experts in here organized this nation today. He actors are dead and I knew the kind of Colonel Joe Flynn our executive officer who essentially is in charge of all those. Activities related to the troll. To his right is our cistern operations officer. I kept. To ask some of the questions which I think your probing minds may ask us. I'm not happy. I'm not happy and I've said this before the Appropriations Committee and try to say this privately as I can about the fact that these people or that we are going to be exposing some of our patrol tactics publicly. I'm not happy. Ever speak about the use of body armor. Because in the past two shootings we've suffered our people. Have. Suffered rooms. Would not have been.

Offset by body. You'll recall when Monica was shot in the upper shoulder. The bullet from first downward one fatal bullet. Several others hit the body armor. And were off said Trooper in the Koran. Although he was not wearing body armor was a devoted wear a body armor and I can't explain human told why he didn't have it that day but I can say to you as a result of our investigation that. Had he been wearing the armor he'd have been in the same situation that. That. Fill the molecules in because the body on a weapon circumvented by at least one in which the fatal wound was outside the area covered by the body armor. Is that an accident or is that intentional. I really don't know. I suspect. That it was intentional. I'd like to confine my remarks this morning into two general areas and I think that your questions probably will fall into two general

areas. The attorney general has already mentioned the radical groups that we have had confrontations in and I am going to go into these in detail so that you have some idea. Not only our experience with these groups but so that you have some idea as to what other police agencies across this nation are facing and the kind of issues that we're trying to to resolve in the heavy expenditure of funds that New Jersey has its very own revolutionary justice. And that's what I'm going to speak to first. The radical groups and their so-called revolutionary justice. The second part of what I'd like to discuss and my own people will discuss with you is the fact that we have made. More of. A case on a number of the cases a case that should have added a lot of. Safety to our people through the past several years he said 173 first contact with these groups and I'm going to retrace that and bring you up to date in that area.

But first the radical groups. We can funny Joe Winchester Martin. And Clark squire who were two major figures along with an individual by name of Costin who did not survive. In 1973 in the trunk of that automobile. From the trunk of that automobile came a passage. That I think is very pertinent. These attacks are not. Focused primarily these attacks are focused primarily on law enforcement. Other targets are not selected by race in the words of geo in revolutionary executions are not a question. Of black and white. It's a question of who wears the midnight blue. These kinds of quotations don't really stick in the minds of a free citizen because you're so safe in this nation that you don't really concern yourself each and every guy. The members of my organization do.

The same individual told us that you can look for pitch battles between militant groups and the pigs on a scale that don't make anything in the 1960s look like a Sunday school picnic. Has this come to pass. I doubt it. I really am not. That disturbed by the ideology of these groups. I'm not that. Impressed by the fact that they will ever overcome an overthrow of established government in this country. But I am impressed by the fact that they will continue to earn their livelihoods by robbing banks and robbing armored cars and that whenever they confront a policeman you can expect that blood will flow and I'm going to retrace some of these some of these incidents for you including ours because I think they are parking to the question you ask about two men. Wait till the second withdrawal arrives it will arrive in about a minute. Then kill two papers.

This has been pretty much the history of what we confronted in May 71 New York City and New York's about move for who was the close friend. Of James Edward Daniels. The individual who murdered trooper Carlos Necron on May 7th in 1984. In May of 1971 before. It was. Shot. So. Was. The. Fire.

Right. You. Were. We're.

All very. Used. To. Working. Together. So. There were bikes and you know. The same idiology use the same safehouse configuration use the same. While you're trying to buy the laser and you didn't overwhelm him killed him or her. If you can't overwhelm him surrender and home weight rescue. And I point out to you very clearly that the New Jersey experience although we probably all have a tendency to quickly forget. Is that rescue is our way of operation. 976 we had an assault on the New Jersey State present here and tried it and we labored for a week and a half. Trying to figure out how that escape was taking place

and ultimately we found it wasn't just an escape at all. It was a planned rescue that went awry. Plan rescue of Clark's wired my division along with the Department of Corrections went to work on several occasions.