Exodus

To the Honorable Governor, Christopher Sununu,

Sir, the Department of Safety, and more specifically, the Division of State Police is a failing entity.  The signs of this are numerous but here are just a few:

Excessive Vacancies. The agency currently has somewhere between 80-100 vacancies.  This represents approximately one fourth of all positions.  The actual number of vacancies is an estimate at best. Why? Because if you ask 4 different Command Staff members (including Colonel Noyes) you will get 4 different numbers.  No one seems to know exactly how many positions are vacant.  Additionally, the number of vacancies is anticipated to increase over the coming year.  Why are Troopers fleeing the Division?

*No cruisers.  The Division has so mismanaged the fleet, that Troopers are now sharing cruisers.  Additionally, there are cruisers which are out of service because of rotted frames.  No shop in the state will repair them because the State of New Hampshire seems to have trouble paying its bills. Furthermore, high mileage, rusting cruisers represent a significant safety issue.  The shortage of cruisers is more shocking because it exists despite the Division being down 100 Troopers.

*Troopers are sharing uniform shirts.  That’s right.  Troopers are typically issued 3 summer shirts and 3 winter shirts.  Recently, Troopers had to turn in winter shirts for reallocation because there was a shortage of them.  Many Troopers are now operating with only 2 shirts.  There should be an excess of shirts since the Division is down 100 Troopers.

*Promotions.  As has been featured in previous RobbiLeaks articles, the Division makes a regular practice of rewarding incompetent performance with promotions.  Examples include all of those responsible for the Farmington double homicide ending in a mistrial because of failing to turn in evidence, the head of the MET Team who encouraged Troopers to engage in illegal stops and searches, a Trooper who should never have been hired after killing his high school girlfriend in a car crash rising to Executive Major, and most notably, another Trooper who shot and killed a woman at the end of a pursuit, only to later stipulate that the reasons he cited for shooting her were false.  When incompetence is rewarded, there is no incentive for excellence.

*Discipline.  A Sergeant commits blatant sexual harassment of a female civilian by sending her lewd text messages, and he barely gets a slap on the wrist because he is friends with the Colonel.  Meanwhile, a Trooper is fired for using 15 minutes of duty time driving to a detail and working said detail in the incorrect uniform. The disciplinary inequity is blatant.

*Lack of Transparency. In the last two and a half years, there have been four Troopers arrested for DWI, one Trooper arrested for Criminal Mischief, and one Trooper arrested for Soliciting Minors for Sex Online.  If a Trooper arrests a citizen for driving 105mph (Reckless Operation), that person’s name and face will be released to the media.  No such press releases are issued when Troopers are arrested for worse crimes.  In addition to the Troopers breaking the law, you might want to ask your Command Staff about how many Troopers have committed suicide, attempted suicide, or been hospitalized for suicidal ideation, stress, and alcohol related issues.

*Lack of Integrity. Right now, the Commander of the Professional Standards Unit is a Lieutenant who was not only partly responsible for the failed investigation of the Farmington Double Homicide, but he then LIED during the internal investigation into that incident.  It is common knowledge he did so.  It is also common knowledge that he vacations with Colonel Noyes.  In a case of sad and twisted irony, the Professional Standards Unit is the unit responsible for investigating integrity issues.  When the people who are holding others to a standard for integrity are unable to meet that standard themselves, the organization fails.

*Cover Ups.  Numerous law enforcement officers have been indicted and charged with crimes for unlawfully accessing protected driver and criminal records.  At the same time, the Department of Safety is led by a commissioner who was caught red-handed doing the very same thing.  Had Colonel Noyes ordered an internal investigation, the Troopers who facilitated this illegal query would have been compelled to answer questions, and Commissioner Quinn would likely have been charged.  Instead, Colonel Noyes “broomed” this incident.  He and Commissioner Quinn then rewarded those stonewalling Troopers with promotions.

*Absentee Leadership. Numerous Command Staff members have taken advantage of the Covid policy of “working from home.” Some of these Commanders rarely show up in Concord to this very day.  They sign on from their residence and remain there all day.  Some may even “work” from their vacation home out of state.  Additionally, sources now tell us that the Colonel is working an abbreviated (20 hour) work week due to stress.  If his stress level is so great that he cannot work more than 20 hours in a week, Colonel Noyes should be relieved of his command.  Furthermore, since his job responsibilities have been altered due to mental condition, his name should be submitted to the Attorney General for addition to the Exculpatory Evidence Schedule (Laurie List) as mental and emotional issues are a qualifier.  (See Section III of the Attorney Generals Law Enforcement Memorandum on Exculpatory Evidence Protocols dated March 21, 2017) 

Priorities. The Division’s Command Staff has responded to the RobbiLeaks posts by feverishly looking for the sources of information so they can stop the “leaks.”  They are also considering what action they should take, even though the posts are all backed up with “receipts.”  In short, your Command Staff is far more concerned that the truth is getting out than with the fact that they continually engage in unethical, unprofessional, and often illegal conduct.  Being more concerned about public embarrassment than actual performance says everything about the Division’s “moral compass.”  

When commanders either don’t show up, can’t show up due to stress, or prove themselves to be corrupt and worthless when they do show up, the organization dies due to lack of leadership. It is clear the Quinn, Noyes, Shapiro et al. experiment has been an abject failure, and the Division is being wildly mismanaged. It is well past time for this regime to meet an unceremonious end. The equation is simple:  Either they go, or the Division continues to plummet into failure.

Integrity. Fairness. Professionalism.