The legislation for the creation of the NJSP was first introduced in 1914, but it would not be until March 29, 1921, with the passing of the State Police Bill, that a statewide police force was created. Senator Clarence I. Case was the driving force behind the 1921 legislation. The person with the most impact on the organization was its first Superintendent
Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr. He was a graduate of
West Point and this training and his time in the military heavily influenced how he organized and trained his first group of troopers. "Honor, Duty, Fidelity", adapted from the
West Point motto "Duty, Honor, Country", is the motto of the NJSP. The triangular state police logo and hat badge represents this motto. The badge was created by New York jeweler Julius George Schwarzkopf, the father of founder
Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf. The NJSP logo includes the year 1921, date of founding, in place of a badge number. The first State Police class reported for training on September 1, 1921 and consisted of 116 men out of an applicant group of 600. Training took place in
Sea Girt, New Jersey on the same grounds as the current State Police Academy. Out of the 116 men who started training only 81 officers and troopers completed the three-month training program. According to the New Jersey State Police website:
Racial profiling In the late 1990s, both the
Maryland and New Jersey State Police agencies were subject to allegations of
racial profiling which claimed that black motorists were being pulled over disproportionately on the
New Jersey Turnpike and on
Interstate 95. A nationwide controversy erupted, which ultimately resulted in a federal monitor watching over the New Jersey State Police. In a
consent decree, the New Jersey State Police agreed to adopt a new policy that no individual may be detained based on race, unless said individual matches the description of a specific suspect. The consent decree was dissolved on September 21, 2009.
New Jersey Turnpike shooting On April 23, 1998, Troopers James Kenna and John Hogan opened fire on a van they stopped for speeding on the New Jersey Turnpike. The four passengers in the van were unarmed. The troopers said they fired, wounding three of the four minority men inside, when the van lurched back toward them. This also started the investigation of possible racial profiling within law enforcement in New Jersey.
Lords of Discipline On December 1, 2003, Trooper Justin Hopson filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Camden. Hopson alleged in his complaint that he was hazed and harassed by a group of fellow state troopers known as the "Lords of Discipline." The hazing occurred when Hopson, with only eleven days on the force at the time, refused to falsify the facts underlying an illegal arrest of a citizen. The complaint alleges that after Hopson refused to support the arrest, he was physically assaulted, received threatening notes, and his car was vandalized while on duty. Over the years, several troopers have come forward about the Lords of Discipline. The secret group allegedly drove nails into colleagues' tires, damaged lockers, and wore Lords of Discipline inscribed T-shirts. The NJ Attorney General's Office conducted a two-year investigation into the group where seven troopers were suspended or reprimanded but the probe found "no organized group of troopers known as the Lords of Discipline." On October 1, 2007, the State of New Jersey agreed to a $400,000 settlement with Justin Hopson. A spokesman for the attorney general called the Hopson settlement "fair and reasonable."
Arrest of Officer Gary S. Wade On August 17, 2004 New Jersey State Police Troopers Michael Colaner and David Ryan pulled over Detective Gary S. Wade of the
Tinton Falls Police Department for allegedly speeding. Detective Wade, who worked for the Police Department in Tinton Falls for eight years, was supposedly on his way to work and driving with his seatbelt on in an unmarked police car with a spotlight on the driver's side, wearing a shirt with an embroidered badge on it and also wearing a badge on his belt. After being pulled over Wade called his supervisor according to his department's protocol and asked the state troopers to wait until his supervisor arrived. However, the dash camera from trooper Colaner's patrol vehicle indicated that within 30 seconds Colaner had pulled a gun on Wade who was still in his car. According to a transcript of the video Wade had asked twice why he was being pulled over and received no answer from the troopers. Colaner then informed Wade that he was placing Wade under arrest for disorderly conduct and after a 90-second exchange the troopers pulled Wade out of his car. The video then shows Colaner hitting Wade in the back of the head with a fist wrapped around a can of pepper spray just before Wade was forced to the ground. Wade was then doused with pepper spray and handcuffed. Wade was subsequently charged and convicted in 2006 in municipal court, of the disorderly persons (misdemeanor) offense: Obstruction of Administration of Law, and the traffic infraction of careless driving. He was convicted again in Superior Court and was ordered to forfeit his position with the Borough of Tinton Falls Police Department. His appeal of the conviction and forfeiture was denied in 2008. However, in 2010, a federal jury in a civil lawsuit found that Trooper Colaner used excessive force in the handling of Wade and awarded Wade $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Trooper Robert Higbee On September 27, 2006, Trooper Robert Higbee was attempting to stop a speeding car, driven by Joshua Wigglesworth, when he failed to yield at a stop sign at the intersection of Stagecoach and Tuckahoe Roads in Marmora, an unincorporated part of
Upper Township, Cape May County. He then collided with a minivan occupied by two sisters, 17-year-old Jacqueline and 19-year-old Christina Becker, which then collided with another vehicle occupied by Robert Taylor and his son Michael. Jacqueline and Christina Becker were pronounced dead at the scene. Higbee was suspended without pay after being indicted and tried on two counts of vehicular homicide in the deaths of Jacqueline and Christina Becker. Higbee was subsequently acquitted on all counts. The mother of Jacqueline and Christina Becker has settled a civil lawsuit for $2 million, while Taylor has filed a lawsuit against Higbee and the New Jersey State Police. These events, including the criminal trial, have been depicted in
Closing the Gap, Christie and Colonel Joseph Rick Fuentes defended the use of NJSP department resources, though New Jersey residents complained about the misuse of government and police resources for personal entertainment. Assemblyman Paul Moriart called on the governor to disclose the use of NJSP helicopters and reimburse taxpayers for the costs associated with personal and political trips. "Gov. Christie must learn that tax payers cannot afford his helicopter joyrides", said Moriart.
Arrest of Rebecca Musarra On October 16, 2015, New Jersey State Troopers Matthew Stazzone and Demetric Gosa arrested Philadelphia-based attorney Rebecca Musarra. The arrest was captured on dashcam video from Stazzone's patrol vehicle. The video showed that when Stazzone asked Musarra the reason he has stopped her, Musarra asserted that she did not have to answer questions. Trooper Stazzone then arrested her for "obstruction" for failing to answer the question. Stazzone read Musarra her Miranda rights, including a statement about her right to remain silent and not answer questions. According to a lawsuit filed by Musarra in federal court, Stazzone and Gosa then took her to the State Police barracks in Washington, NJ. Once there, a supervisor viewed the tape of the arrest and informed Musarra that her arrest had been a mistake. In March 2017, the New Jersey State Police sent Musarra a letter stating that her allegations of false arrest and illegal search had been substantiated. Later that year, in August 2017, Musarra settled her federal lawsuit related to the incident for $30,000. Stazzone and Gosa remained on-duty after the incident and were reportedly given additional training.
Trooper Trump was awarded as an honorary state trooper with badge #45 by the state police for his support of law enforcement. In 2017, the State Police made President
Donald Trump an honorary state trooper, giving him the badge number 45 (that had been assigned to Trooper Leo A. Griffin of the First Class in 1921, who did not graduate), in a private ceremony at the
White House. Officials presenting the award included Patrick Callahan, Rick Fuentes and Jeffrey Mottley.
Racism investigations In July 2023, the
NAACP New Jersey State Conference called upon the
Department of Justice and state
Attorney General Matt Platkin to investigate allegations of systemic racism and discrimination within the state police. In September 2024, two separate reports were released in response to the allegations, with one focusing on the state police's Office of Professional Standards and the other on the state police's practices for recruitment, hiring, and promotion. The release of the reports led the NAACP to call for state police leadership to be replaced. A 2023 report found evidence of racial disparities in traffic enforcement by NJSP. After the release of the report, the NJSP was suspected to engage in a work slowdown, as it issued substantially fewer traffic tickets. Shortly thereafter, an investigation was opened into the allegations, which Attorney General Platkin
recused himself from. == Core functions ==