Justia Biamonte joined Bethl police in 2016. According to an old post on the department's Facebook page, the 32-year-old's patrol officer now finds herself on the other side of the law. >> In January of 2025, a violent crash on Route 8 in Shelton, Connecticut, left a 14-year-old girl dead. Several others were injured. The driver involved did not remain at the scene. In the hours that followed, investigators say actions were taken that delayed accountability. not by a stranger, but by a police officer. According to arrest documents, Bethl police officer Justennia Biamonte is accused of helping her brother evade responsibility after the crash. She was not on duty at the time, but prosecutors alleged she used her law enforcement training, her knowledge, and her access in ways that interfered with the investigation. This case is not about a traffic accident alone. It is about what happens after and who gets involved when the system meets itself. Thin blue lies, baby. Investigators say the driver was Carlos Biamonte, the officer's brother. He was later arrested and charged with multiple offenses, including manslaughter and evading responsibility. Court documents alleged that officer Biamonte delayed notifying authorities, helped move her brother away from the crash scene, and contacted fellow officers during the critical early stages of the investigation. She was later arrested and charged with hindering prosecution, interfering with an officer, and acting as an accessory to evading responsibility. She has since been placed on administrative leave, and released on bond. According to officials, the department has stated it is cooperating with investigators and that internal policies prohibit any officer from interfering in an active criminal investigation, regardless of personal relationships. We are learning more tonight about the allegations against a Bethl police officer. She is accused of helping her brother evade a deadly crash in Shelton. That officer turned herself into state police this week. We learn more tonight. News12 Connecticut's Marissa Alter. Justia Biamonte joined Bethl police in 2016. According to an old post on the department's Facebook page, the 32-year-old patrol officer now finds herself on the other side of the law. Biamonte is charged with accessory to evading responsibility thirdderee hindering prosecution and interfering with an officer in connection to a crash in Shelton that killed 14-year-old Khloe Ramsag. Biamonte wasn't directly part of the crash, but her brother was. And according to her arrest warrant, she knowingly and willfully impeded a police investigation, delayed contacting police and emergency services, and utilized her professional law enforcement training and knowledge to obstruct and hinder the investigation of this collision. >> Let's be clear, officers know exactly how fragile early investigations are. They're trained on it, tested on it, reminded of it every time a supervisor says, "Secure the scene." They know which questions get asked first. They know which details matter most. They know how timelines are built and how easily they can fall apart. They also know which delays help and which ones quietly hurt the truth. So when prosecutors allege that an officer used that knowledge after a fatal crash, not to preserve evidence, but to slow accountability, that matters. And yet we're supposed to believe that training just switches off when family is involved. As if muscle memory disappears, as if experience suddenly evaporates. As if years of law enforcement conditioning politely steps aside for personal loyalty. That's not how training works. It doesn't come with an off switch. And it's definitely not how accountability is supposed to work. But it is how professional courtesy works. The unspoken rule that says the system bends a little differently when the badge is close to home. >> Police say Biamonte's brother had been drinking before he caused the three vehicle collision around 12:40 in the morning on January 12th of last year. According to the warrant, he fled the scene and called his sister who picked him up at a nearby parking lot, but waited an hour and 16 minutes to call 911 and report the crash. Before then, she allegedly spoke with a Bethl sergeant and asked if her brother would have to take a field sobriety test if she brought him back to the scene. Instead, Biamonte drove him to the hospital. She was not on duty at the time, but has been placed on administrative leave. Bethl Police released a statement saying in part, "The Bethl Police Department takes these matters seriously and holds its members to high professional and ethical standards. Maintaining public trust is a priority for this department, and we are committed to transparency while respecting due process. We will cooperate fully with the investigating agency." >> Departments love to say, "This doesn't reflect who we are." It's one of the most rehearsed lines in modern policing, right up there with, "We're reviewing the incident and the investigation is ongoing." But here's the problem. When accountability is slow, when consequences feel carefully delayed, when statements are issued faster than subpoenas, and when the system seems more focused on controlling the narrative than confronting the conduct, it reflects something. Because institutions are not defined by their mission statements, they're defined by what they tolerate. >> Biamonte is currently free on a $25,000 bond. Her attorney told News12, "My client maintains her absolute innocence." That being said, we are not oblivious to the tragic loss of life in this case, and we wish the family of the victim nothing but the best in this very difficult time. Justia Biamonte was given a first court date of January 29th. She's the first person arrested in connection with this crash. Her brother is not facing charges at this time, but state police say the investigation is still active. In Bethl, Marissa Alter, News12 Connecticut. >> Police officers receive specialized training. They're taught how investigations work, how timelines matter, how evidence disappears, sometimes permanently, in the first few hours after a serious incident. And according to prosecutors, that training may not have been used to protect the investigation, but to manage it. Because when a civilian delays reporting, moves someone involved, or interferes with officers, that's usually called obstruction. When a police officer allegedly does it, suddenly we hear phrases like context, complexity, and let the process play out. Trust isn't destroyed by criticism. It's not destroyed by body cam footage, and it's definitely not destroyed by citizens asking uncomfortable questions. Trust is destroyed by double standards. When one set of rules applies to the public and another applies behind the badge when the system moves at full speed for civilians, but suddenly discovers patience, nuance, and restraint when its own are involved. Departments often say, "Let the process play out." But the public has seen this process before. Administrative leave that feels like a pause button. Investigations that stretch quietly into the background. An accountability that arrives, if it arrives at all, long after public attention has moved on. That's not transparency. That's attrition. Thin blue lies, baby.