Law enforcement whistleblower speaks out at CSU

CHARLESTON, SC – Justin Hopson’s lifelong dream of being a law enforcement officer began falling apart 11 days after he first put the uniform on.
 
As a rookie New Jersey State Trooper, Hopson witnessed his training officer make an unlawful arrest and, later, falsify a police report. Hopson was shocked.
 
“This was the same guy who presented me my badge,” said Hopson during a recent phone interview. He finished his shift and went home. He cried. He prayed. He made his decision, one that would change his life forever.
 
The next day, while on patrol with his training officer, Hopson turned and said, “With all due respect, sir, what you did last night was wrong.”
 
The car slowed. Hopson felt the tension building.
 
“What did you say?” asked his training officer.
 
“What you did last night was wrong,” repeated Hopson. “We did not have probable cause to arrest that woman last night, and I will not testify in court to support the arrest.”
 
The car slowed again.
 
“You best keep your mouth shut,” the training officer told Hopson. “What does a rookie trooper know about probable cause anyway?”
 
In hindsight, Hopson calls that moment his personal “test of integrity.” He kept his word, refusing to testify in support of his training officer. The decision led to six months of hazing and harassment.
 
Hopson began uncovering evidence of a secret society within the State Police known as the “Lords of Discipline,” whose mission was to keep fellow troopers in line. Hopson blew the whistle on his colleagues, sparking the largest internal investigation in State Police history.
 
In his new book Breaking the Blue Wall, Hopson shares his story of exposing police corruption, battling fear and intimidation. “I was an ordinary cop with an extraordinary cause,” he said.
 
Hopson, who now resides in Mount Pleasant, will share his story at Charleston Southern University on Monday, March 5 at 6 p.m. in Ashby Hall 204. The event is open to the public.
 
Hopson has a master of arts degree in management and has a high degree of professional training in such areas as gang awareness, management evaluation and critical first response. He has been certified as a state police instructor and American Heart Association healthcare provider. After retiring as a New Jersey State Trooper in 2007, Hopson founded Hopson Investigations, a state licensed private investigative firm based in Charleston, South Carolina. He was appointed to the Charleston County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Advisory Board in May 2009, and became a member of the South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators in June 2010.
 
He has been featured on ABC News, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Newark Star-Ledger about police corruption. For more information, visit Hopson’s website at BreakingtheBlueWall.com.