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04-01-2013, 12:59 PM
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Posted: Sunday, May 27, 2012 12:01 a.m.Justin Hopson came to Charleston for three things: the slow pace, sweet tea and Southern charm.
But underlying his move was something more fundamental.
<aside class="inlines left">
</aside> “I said, ‘I think it’s a good idea if I leave this state (New Jersey),’ ” said Hopson, 38. “I needed to start anew.”
The story of his move to Charleston begins in 2002, when he started his career as a rookie with the New Jersey State Police.
Shortly thereafter, everything began to change. It was in March, after only 11 days on the job, that Hopson witnessed the arrest of a woman for drunken driving, a charge he said was unlawful and refused to support.
The reason: She wasn’t driving. Instead, he said, she was riding in the back seat.
“There was no gray area,” he said.
Hopson confronted his training officer, who made the arrest, and eventually testified against him in court. In doing so, he ran afoul of the “Lords of Discipline,” which he called an organized “secret society” within the state police. The group regularly targeted women, minorities and anyone else who didn’t fall in line with them, he said.
The rookie officer fell into the latter group, and over the next several years he was harassed and threatened by its members.
“It was a death of a thousand cuts,” he said.
Some cuts went deeper than others. Officers drove by his home in the wee hours of the morning, shining their spotlights through his bedroom window or breathing deeply into the loud speaker receiver. Another, donning a Lords of Discipline T-shirt, elbowed him hard in the chest. He sometimes would find his car door covered in chewing tobacco and spit.
Hopson grew paranoid, and he was overcome by waves of “a deep depression” until he left the force.
All this, he said, for doing the right thing.
The experience led to a lawsuit and spurred the largest internal investigation in the state police’s history.
It’s led to a new life for Hopson, too. New Jersey settled with him in 2007, then he quit the force and packed up for South Carolina. Now, he said, his roots are in the Holy City.
He met his wife, Kristen, 30, at a local gym. The pair was married in White Point Garden. His daughters, Hanna and Hope, at 1 year and 5 months, respectively, also were born here.
Wednesday afternoon, he was enjoying the Lowcountry’s lazy pace at his Mount Pleasant home, sitting on a white leather couch in jeans and a tan button-down shirt with a hint of scruff. Outside, a porch overlooked a quiet pond, and a neighbor’s leaf blower could be heard in the background. No police cruisers drove by. His phone did not ring.
Hopson now owns a private investigation firm, Hopson Investigations, and has worked with Charleston County’s Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Advisory Board. He’s also active with the local Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter and attends Seacoast Church. He published a book recounting his story, “Breaking the Blue Wall,” earlier this year, and he’ll share it at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Mount Pleasant Senior Center.
But when he speaks, he’ll be sharing a more fundamental lesson.
Some 10 years ago, Hopson stepped up to defend a citizen who he said was wrongly charged. In doing so, he garnered national attention as he shook up a large and, he said, insular New Jersey institution.
Today he believes more than ever in the importance of doing what’s right.
“We all make mistakes; we all sin — that’s just part of life,” Hopson said. “Whether it’s in your community, your neighborhood, your church, your family, act with integrity.
“That’s something we can all strive for.”
Reach Thad Moore at 958-7360 or on Twitter @thad moore (http://www.postandcourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120527/PC1204/120529368/1015/justin-hopson-who-shook-up-new-jersey-state-police-advocates-for-doing-the-right-thing).
http://www.postandcourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120527/PC1204/120529368/1015/justin-hopson-who-shook-up-new-jersey-state-police-advocates-for-doing-the-right-thing
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VdcuFVCKUW8?feature=player_detailpage" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe>
"lords of discipline have been around for decades"
bigfoot
Justin Hopson served as a New Jersey State Trooper
before retiring in 2007.
As a trooper, Justin Hopson investigated fatal accidents,
domestic violence incidents, sexual assaults, child abuse,
missing persons, homicides, suicides, narcotics, and
drunk driving cases. Most notably, he spearheaded the
1979 cold case investigation of Karen Zendrosky, a
missing teenager who was allegedly murdered and never
found. Mr. Hopson coordinated federal, state, and
municipal agencies such as the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children and NecroSearch
International to assist by searching for the victim's
remains. As a result of moving the aforementioned case
forward, he received multiple commendations and was
later selected to the State Governmental Security Bureau.
Justin Hopson holds a Master of Arts degree in
management and has a high degree of professional
training. Training such as gang awareness, management
evaluation, and critical first response has honed his
proficiency. Mr. Hopson has been certified as a State
Police Instructor and American Heart Association
Health care Provider.
As a New Jersey State Trooper, Justin Hopson diligently
exposed government and police corruption. His efforts to
reform government have been supported by the likes of
Senator John Adler, Dr. Susan Lipkins, Frank Serpico,
and the National Whistleblower Center. ABC News, The
New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The
Star-Ledger, 20/20 and other media outlets have
interviewed Mr. Hopson about police reform.
Justin Hopson has successfully testified in federal, state,
and municipal court proceedings. In 2012, his "Test of
Integrity" presentation and award winning book have
been featured at universities, business conferences,
Progressive Radio, high schools, and churches. Justin
was recently appointed Co-Chair for the National Whistle
blower Day Coordinating Committee!
http://www.breakingthebluewall.com/services.html
Posted: Sunday, May 27, 2012 12:01 a.m.Justin Hopson came to Charleston for three things: the slow pace, sweet tea and Southern charm.
But underlying his move was something more fundamental.
<aside class="inlines left">
</aside> “I said, ‘I think it’s a good idea if I leave this state (New Jersey),’ ” said Hopson, 38. “I needed to start anew.”
The story of his move to Charleston begins in 2002, when he started his career as a rookie with the New Jersey State Police.
Shortly thereafter, everything began to change. It was in March, after only 11 days on the job, that Hopson witnessed the arrest of a woman for drunken driving, a charge he said was unlawful and refused to support.
The reason: She wasn’t driving. Instead, he said, she was riding in the back seat.
“There was no gray area,” he said.
Hopson confronted his training officer, who made the arrest, and eventually testified against him in court. In doing so, he ran afoul of the “Lords of Discipline,” which he called an organized “secret society” within the state police. The group regularly targeted women, minorities and anyone else who didn’t fall in line with them, he said.
The rookie officer fell into the latter group, and over the next several years he was harassed and threatened by its members.
“It was a death of a thousand cuts,” he said.
Some cuts went deeper than others. Officers drove by his home in the wee hours of the morning, shining their spotlights through his bedroom window or breathing deeply into the loud speaker receiver. Another, donning a Lords of Discipline T-shirt, elbowed him hard in the chest. He sometimes would find his car door covered in chewing tobacco and spit.
Hopson grew paranoid, and he was overcome by waves of “a deep depression” until he left the force.
All this, he said, for doing the right thing.
The experience led to a lawsuit and spurred the largest internal investigation in the state police’s history.
It’s led to a new life for Hopson, too. New Jersey settled with him in 2007, then he quit the force and packed up for South Carolina. Now, he said, his roots are in the Holy City.
He met his wife, Kristen, 30, at a local gym. The pair was married in White Point Garden. His daughters, Hanna and Hope, at 1 year and 5 months, respectively, also were born here.
Wednesday afternoon, he was enjoying the Lowcountry’s lazy pace at his Mount Pleasant home, sitting on a white leather couch in jeans and a tan button-down shirt with a hint of scruff. Outside, a porch overlooked a quiet pond, and a neighbor’s leaf blower could be heard in the background. No police cruisers drove by. His phone did not ring.
Hopson now owns a private investigation firm, Hopson Investigations, and has worked with Charleston County’s Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Advisory Board. He’s also active with the local Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter and attends Seacoast Church. He published a book recounting his story, “Breaking the Blue Wall,” earlier this year, and he’ll share it at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Mount Pleasant Senior Center.
But when he speaks, he’ll be sharing a more fundamental lesson.
Some 10 years ago, Hopson stepped up to defend a citizen who he said was wrongly charged. In doing so, he garnered national attention as he shook up a large and, he said, insular New Jersey institution.
Today he believes more than ever in the importance of doing what’s right.
“We all make mistakes; we all sin — that’s just part of life,” Hopson said. “Whether it’s in your community, your neighborhood, your church, your family, act with integrity.
“That’s something we can all strive for.”
Reach Thad Moore at 958-7360 or on Twitter @thad moore (http://www.postandcourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120527/PC1204/120529368/1015/justin-hopson-who-shook-up-new-jersey-state-police-advocates-for-doing-the-right-thing).
http://www.postandcourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120527/PC1204/120529368/1015/justin-hopson-who-shook-up-new-jersey-state-police-advocates-for-doing-the-right-thing
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VdcuFVCKUW8?feature=player_detailpage" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe>
"lords of discipline have been around for decades"
bigfoot
Justin Hopson served as a New Jersey State Trooper
before retiring in 2007.
As a trooper, Justin Hopson investigated fatal accidents,
domestic violence incidents, sexual assaults, child abuse,
missing persons, homicides, suicides, narcotics, and
drunk driving cases. Most notably, he spearheaded the
1979 cold case investigation of Karen Zendrosky, a
missing teenager who was allegedly murdered and never
found. Mr. Hopson coordinated federal, state, and
municipal agencies such as the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children and NecroSearch
International to assist by searching for the victim's
remains. As a result of moving the aforementioned case
forward, he received multiple commendations and was
later selected to the State Governmental Security Bureau.
Justin Hopson holds a Master of Arts degree in
management and has a high degree of professional
training. Training such as gang awareness, management
evaluation, and critical first response has honed his
proficiency. Mr. Hopson has been certified as a State
Police Instructor and American Heart Association
Health care Provider.
As a New Jersey State Trooper, Justin Hopson diligently
exposed government and police corruption. His efforts to
reform government have been supported by the likes of
Senator John Adler, Dr. Susan Lipkins, Frank Serpico,
and the National Whistleblower Center. ABC News, The
New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The
Star-Ledger, 20/20 and other media outlets have
interviewed Mr. Hopson about police reform.
Justin Hopson has successfully testified in federal, state,
and municipal court proceedings. In 2012, his "Test of
Integrity" presentation and award winning book have
been featured at universities, business conferences,
Progressive Radio, high schools, and churches. Justin
was recently appointed Co-Chair for the National Whistle
blower Day Coordinating Committee!
http://www.breakingthebluewall.com/services.html