N.J. Attorney General Appoints Preet Bharara to Investigate Slowdown in State Police Traffic Enforcement
- Currently partner at the law firm WilmerHale, he became known for cracking down on political corruption as the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Preet Bharara, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has been tapped to lead a criminal investigation into a protracted slowdown in traffic enforcement by New Jersey state police troopers. “Mr. Bharara will serve as special counsel with ‘full authority’ over an already active investigation into an eight-month reduction in traffic-safety enforcement by the state police,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said, announcing the appointment yesterday (Dec. 11).
Platkin said he’s “deeply disappointed” that the state police’s “well-deserved reputation for serving the public good has been tainted by the alleged and unprecedented slowdown in traffic enforcement.” He’s “particularly concerned” that this s”lowdown may have coincided with increased crashes and fatalities on our roadways,” he added.
The New York Times notes that Platkin’s decision “to bring on such prominent, out-of-state legal counsel to assist in the investigation of New Jersey’s largest police force is likely to further strain his relationship with the Democratic governor, Philip D. Murphy, a onetime close ally”
According to The Times, “tickets for speeding, drunken driving, cellphone use and other violations plummeted by 61 percent” from July 2023 and March 2024, “on the state’s busiest highways and rural back roads.” The “sharp downturn in summonses and stops” began a week after Platkin released a report in July 2023 that found glaring racial disparities in road safety enforcement. “There was extremely strong evidence of a large and persistent disparity both is the decision to stop as well as the decision to engage in post-stop enforcement like search, vehicular exits, use of force, and arrest,” the report revealed.” News outlets reported at the time that New Jersey was experiencing a surge in car accidents and fatalities while the national average of accidents was on the decline.
Bharara, a partner at WilmerHale, a law firm based in New York, grew up in Eatontown, New Jersey. He became known for cracking down on political corruption as the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York. He led the office for nearly nine years before being fired by former President Donald J. Trump in 2017. Responding to the appointment, he said he’s “deeply honored by the confidence placed in me to conduct a fair and rigorous investigation on behalf of the people of New Jersey, who deserve a thorough accounting of the facts.”