A new whistleblower lawsuit alleges that the New Jersey State Police ignored background checks to increase racial diversity.
Sgt. Jaclyn Jiras claims she was reassigned and denied a promotion for flagging prospective recruits with troubled legal and criminal pasts, according to The Star-Ledger.
Jiras spent five months working as a background investigator as the agency was under intense scrutiny for its lack of black cadets. She was responsible for conducting background checks for the division's 152nd and 153rd academy classes in 2012 and 2013. Both classes were touted in as the most diverse in New Jersey State Police history
Jiras and Sgt. Christopher Griffin also were disciplined for allegedly leaking information from confidential background investigations to a retired trooper who ran a Facebook group.
The lawsuit claims that candidates who had been automatically disqualified for having suspended licenses, criminal affiliations and active warrants were approved due to pressure from the state Attorney General's Office to boost diversity on short notice.
The lawsuit names the state of New Jersey, the State Police, Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes and Capt. Mark Santiago as defendants.
The State Police and Attorney General's Office declined to comment on the allegations.
