Justin Hopson

Last updated

Justin Hopson is a retired New Jersey State Trooper, investigative & media consultant, author of Breaking the Blue Wall: One Man's War Against Police Corruption

Contents

Justin Hopson
Image3.jpg Justin Hopson 2.JPG
Justin Hopson in 2018
Born
Somers Point, New Jersey
Alma materNew Jersey State Police Academy, 129th State Police Class
Police career
Department New Jersey State Police
StatusRetired
RankState Trooper
Other workInvestigative & Media Consultant. Award-Winning Author. USATF Level 1 Coach

New Jersey State Police

As a trooper, Hopson investigated fatal accidents, homicides, suicides, sexual assault, armed robbery, narcotics, and spearheaded the missing person investigation of Karen Zendrosky (#C02085-393). The Zendrosky investigation spanned 24-years, Hopson coordinated a multi-agency effort to search for human remains, initiated wiretaps on the suspected murderer, gathered witness testimony, and later received commendations for moving the cold case forward. Trooper Hopson was then selected to the NJSP State Governmental Security Bureau where he was responsible for the security operations for the Dept. of Education, Dept. Environmental Protection, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Taxation, and the supervision of state proprietary security guards. In 2005, Hopson stopped and arrested suspected gang members in possession of a "Molotov Cocktail" (gasoline and motor oil used as an incendiary device) who allegedly planned to use the device against a rival. "The efforts of the troopers involved in this arrest thwarted a potentially deadly situation. We will not tolerate gang activity of any kind," stated NJ State Police Superintendent, Colonel Rick Fuentes. [1]

Whistleblower

As a New Jersey State Trooper, Justin Hopson witnessed an unlawful arrest and false charges of a woman made by a fellow trooper. Consequently, Hopson refused to testify in court supporting the unlawful arrest and was then targeted by a rogue group of troopers known as the Lords of Discipline or "LOD." The LOD bullied and hazed fellow troopers for decades until Justin Hopson blew the whistle. Hopson brought tangible evidence and a written chronology of events that occurred to internal affairs and the attorney general's office...which sparked the largest internal investigation in state police history and high profile federal case (Hopson v State of New Jersey #1:03-CV-5817). Trooper Hopson testified in a General Court Marshal against fellow troopers who were affiliated with the LOD - all of which pled or were found guilty and suspended. In October 2007, Trooper Hopson was awarded a $400,000 settlement from the State of New Jersey. ABC News , The New York Times , [2] The Philadelphia Inquirer , The Star-Ledger, 20/20, and other media outlets have interviewed and featured Justin Hopson concerning police corruption. During an interview, Hopson recounted spending an afternoon in the Catskill Mountains with a pivotal influence in his life, Frank Serpico. "As whistle-blowers, we shared similar stories of attempting to reform our respective police departments and understood one another's parallel hells. We played pool together, explored art galleries, and broke bread at an organic cafe spending hours in conversation. I found that Serpico's philosophies of life and law enforcement were all his own, transcending anyone's neat categories. Frank Serpico truly is a renaissance man and a friend," said Hopson.

Investigative & Media Consultant

After retiring from the New Jersey State Police, Justin Hopson founded a licensed private investigative firm in South Carolina. As a private eye, Justin Hopson specializes in both civil and criminal investigations. Investigations such as skip-tracing, insurance fraud, marital infidelity, dram shop law, and corruption are his primary focus. Justin Hopson led the high-profile investigation into the murder of James Belli (Case No. 2:10-cv-02356-RMG). [3] Belli was killed by two inmates in Lieber maximum-security state prison. Justin Hopson was able to unearth prison understaffing and extortion, which later led to a $450,000 settlement awarded to the estate of James Belli (Plaintiff). Hopson is a member of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement and a member of the South Carolina Association for Legal Investigators (SCALI). SCALI selected and appointed Mr. Hopson to its Ethics Committee and invited him to be a keynote speaker at its annual conference. In 2013, Mr. Hopson was selected and appointed by Governor, Nikki Haley, to a South Carolina State Advisory Committee. That same year, Justin Hopson was interviewed on ABC News 20/20 and his book, "Breaking the Blue Wall" [4] climbed to #14 on Amazon's true crime ranking.

Track and Field Coach

Justin Hopson has been a USA Track and Field Level 1 Coach since 2018 and received a USATF scholarship and certification at the University of South Carolina. He was appointed to the USATF Grievance Review Board for the State of South Carolina. In 2022, Justin Hopson was named the Head Track and Field Coach for Ashley Hall (Charleston, SC) and Strength & Conditioning Coach for Mount Pleasant Track Club. He advocates to athletes the importance of incorporating plyometrics, dynamic stretching, and lateral movements during in-season training. Mr. Hopson emphasizes a "Turn and Burn" philosophy for distance events, which is that a race is won (or lost) by how quickly a runner can accelerate off of the near and far turns. He is a member of USA Track and Field and a volunteer for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic games.

Personal life

Justin Hopson lives with his family in Charleston, South Carolina.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assata Shakur</span> American former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army

Assata Olugbala Shakur is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted in the first-degree murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. She escaped from prison in 1979 and is currently wanted by the FBI, with a $1 million reward for her apprehension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Serpico</span> American police officer and whistleblower

Francesco Vincent Serpico is an American retired New York Police Department detective, best known for whistleblowing on police corruption. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was a plainclothes police officer working in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan to expose vice racketeering. In 1967, he reported credible evidence of widespread police corruption, to no effect. In 1970, he contributed to a front-page story in The New York Times on widespread corruption in the NYPD, which drew national attention to the problem. Mayor John V. Lindsay appointed a five-member panel to investigate accusations of police corruption, which became the Knapp Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Liberation Army</span> American underground, black nationalist militant organization

The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of New Afrika (RNA) members who served above ground before going underground, the organization's program was one of war against the United States government, and its stated goal was to "take up arms for the liberation and self-determination of black people in the United States." The BLA carried out a series of bombings, killings of police officers and drug dealers, robberies, and prison breaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin Kings (gang)</span> Hispanic and Latino street gang based in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation is one of the largest Hispanic and Latino street and prison gangs worldwide. The gang was founded by Puerto Ricans in Chicago, Illinois in 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts State Police</span> Law enforcement agency

The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2022, it has 2,067 troopers, 1,500 of them being uniformed troopers, and 611 civilian support staff, making it the largest law enforcement agency in New England. The MSP is headed by Interim Lieutenant Colonel Jack Mawn.

Sundiata Acoli is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1974 for murdering a New Jersey state trooper. Acoli was granted parole in 2022 at the age of 85.

A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, prosecutors, municipal law enforcement officers, health inspectors, SWAT officers, customs officers, lawyers, state troopers, federal agents, secret agents, special investigators, coast guards, border patrol officers, judges, district attorney, bounty hunters, gendarmerie officers, immigration officers, private investigators, court officers, probation officers, parole officers, arson investigators, auxiliary officers, animal control officers, game wardens, park rangers, county sheriff's deputies, constables, marshals, detention officers, correction officers, sworn campus police officers and public safety officers. Security guards are not law enforcement officers, unless they have been granted powers to enforce particular laws, such as those accredited under a community safety accreditation scheme such as a security police officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey State Police</span> State law enforcement agency of New Jersey

The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey State Prison</span> State Prison for men In Trenton, New Jersey US

The New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), formerly known as Trenton State Prison, is a state men's prison in Trenton, New Jersey operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. It is the oldest prison in New Jersey and one of the oldest correctional facilities in the United States. It is the state's only completely maximum security institution, housing the most difficult and/or dangerous male offenders in the inmate population. NJSP operates two security units and provides a high level of custodial supervision and control. Professional treatment services, such as education and social work, are a priority at the facility. The Bureau of State Use Industries operated the bedding and clothing shops that were once located in Shop Hall at the facility. These industries have been relocated to South Woods State Prison.

False evidence, fabricated evidence, forged evidence, fake evidence or tainted evidence is information created or obtained illegally in order to sway the verdict in a court case. Falsified evidence could be created by either side in a case, or by someone sympathetic to either side. Misleading by suppressing evidence can also be considered a form of false evidence ; however, in some cases, suppressed evidence is excluded because it cannot be proved the accused was aware of the items found or of their location. The analysis of evidence may also be forged if the person doing the forensic work finds it easier to fabricate evidence and test results than to perform the actual work involved. Parallel construction is a form of false evidence in which the evidence is truthful but its origins are untruthfully described, at times in order to avoid evidence being excluded as inadmissible due to unlawful means of procurement such as an unlawful search.

Police misconduct refers to inappropriate conduct and illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Types of misconduct include among others: coerced false confession, intimidation, false arrest, false imprisonment, falsification of evidence, spoliation of evidence, police perjury, witness tampering, police brutality, police corruption, racial profiling, unwarranted surveillance, unwarranted searches, and unwarranted seizure of property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Highway Patrol</span>

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is the highway patrol agency for South Carolina, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state except for federal or military installations. The Highway Patrol was created in 1930 and is an organization with a rank structure similar to the armed forces. The mission of the South Carolina Highway Patrol includes enforcing the rules and regulations in order to ensure road way safety and reducing crime as outlined by South Carolina law. The Highway Patrol is the largest division of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and its headquarters is located in Blythewood. This department also includes the South Carolina State Transport Police Division, and the South Carolina Bureau of Protective Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Highway Patrol</span> State law enforcement agency

The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and is the largest state-level law enforcement agency in the U.S. state of Texas. The patrol's primary duties are enforcement of state traffic laws and commercial vehicle regulation, but it is a fully empowered police agency with authority to enforce criminal law anywhere in the state. Highway patrol troopers are also responsible for patrolling the state Capitol Complex in Austin and providing security to the governor. The current Chief is Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Mathis.

Law enforcement in Pakistan is one of the three main components of the criminal justice system of Pakistan, alongside the judiciary and the prisons. The country has a mix of federal, provincial and territorial police forces with both general and specialised functions, but the senior ranks of all the provincial forces and most of the federal ones are manned by members of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP). The PSP is one of the most prestigious parts of the Central Superior Services, Pakistan's main civil service organisation. Federal law enforcement agencies are generally overseen by the Ministry of Interior of the Government of Pakistan, while provincial police forces are overseen by a department of the government of that province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mack (police officer)</span> American runner and police officer convicted for bank robbery

David Anthony Mack is a former professional runner and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer involved in the Rampart Division's Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit. He was one of the central figures in the LAPD Rampart police corruption scandal. Mack was arrested in December 1997 for robbery of $722,000 from a South Central Los Angeles branch of the Bank of America. He was sentenced to fourteen years and three months in federal prison. Mack has never revealed the whereabouts of the money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Goldberg</span> American convicted sex offender and a former fugitive

Richard Steve Goldberg is a convicted sex offender and a former fugitive who was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on June 14, 2002. Goldberg is the 474th fugitive to be placed on the list. He was captured in Montreal, Canada on May 12, 2007, and subsequently convicted and sentenced to imprisonment of 20 years.

The New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller(OSC) is an independent agency of the Government of New Jersey created by an act of the state legislature in 2007 in order to make government more efficient, accountable and transparent. The State Comptroller is appointed by the Governor of New Jersey, with the advice and consent of the New Jersey Senate, to a renewable six-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the New York City Police Department</span>

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) originates in the Government of New York City attempts to control rising crime in early to mid 19th century New York City. This increased crime was due to an increased population, caused primarily by poor Irish immigrants beginning in the 1820s. The City's reforms created a full-time professional police force modeled upon London's Metropolitan Police, itself only formed in 1829. Established in 1845, the Municipal Police replaced the inadequate night watch system which had been in place since the 17th century, when the city was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State police (United States)</span> Police department of a U.S. state

In the United States, the state police is a police body unique to each U.S. state, having statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations. In general, state police officers or highway patrol officers, known as state troopers, perform functions that do not fall within the jurisdiction of the county sheriff, such as enforcing traffic laws on state highways and interstate expressways, overseeing the security of the state capitol complex, protecting the governor, training new officers for local police forces too small to operate an academy and providing technological and scientific services. They support local police and help to coordinate multi-jurisdictional task force activity in serious or complicated cases in those states that grant full police powers statewide.

References

  1. "New Jersey State Police - 2005 News Releases". www.njsp.org. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  2. "Opinion | The Lords of Disorder". The New York Times. 2007-10-07. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  3. Smith, Glenn. "A small teen in prison: Belli was thrown to wolves in Lieber's toughest dorm". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  4. "Justin Hopson". www.breakingthebluewall.com. Retrieved 2016-12-11.