Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 19, 2006 18:09:36 GMT -5
Lack of cash stalls crime lab inquiry----Not all agree it's worth $1.5
million in additional funds
The only comprehensive investigation of the Houston crime lab remains on
hold, 3 months after dwindling funds stalled the probe that first exposed
evidence of serious problems such as falsified test results and the
tailoring of reports to fit police theories.
While Police Chief Harold Hurtt has expressed support for completing the
inquiry, another high-ranking police official has said it is not worth the
$1.5 million investigators are seeking. Several City Council members also
have raised doubts, and Mayor Bill White has been noncommittal.
"Somehow, the shock value of (the scandal) has dissipated over time," said
Michael Bromwich, a former U.S. Justice Department official overseeing the
probe into problems that were first revealed in 2002.
"It's a troubling thought that there could have been a significant number
of defendants in prison based on shoddy, inadequate and flawed serology
work and that people are seemingly reluctant to find out the truth about
their cases," Bromwich said Monday.
A vote on further funding has not been scheduled, but could take place
before the end of September. To date, the probe has cost the city $3.8
million.
With that money, Bromwich and his team of lawyers and scientists have
reviewed about 2,300 cases from the Houston Police Department crime lab's
disciplines, including DNA profiling, blood-type analyses called serology
tests, firearms tests and drug tests. The team has identified 93 cases in
which DNA or serology tests had "major issues" that raise doubts about HPD
analysts' conclusions.
The team is seeking to complete its review of serology tests, develop
recommendations for how to prevent further problems and write its final
report. The investigators expanded the scope of their review of serology
cases, with the support of HPD and a committee from different parts of the
justice system to which it reports, after uncovering "severe and pervasive
problems."
The current delay is the second in which city officials have weighed
whether to let it continue. In summer 2005, the probe was put on hold for
nearly 8 weeks before the City Council approved an additional $1.2
million.
Bromwich and HPD approached the council about the current need for money
in June. Since then, some council members and a top HPD official have
voiced doubts.
"My question to Mr. Bromwich is, basically, 'What are you going to provide
in that $1.5 million that we haven't already received?' " Executive
Assistant Police Chief Martha Montalvo said at a July 25 council committee
meeting.
Hurtt, however, has said he would like to see Bromwich complete the probe.
"The money would have to be worked out by City Council," he said after
Montalvo's comments, "but we ought to let him finish up his job."
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, who last year provided
$500,000 to help with the probe, agreed Monday that the team should be
allowed to complete its work.
Bromwich was hired in March 2005, more than 2 years after problems first
were exposed at the lab. Before then, news reports and other smaller
inquiries revealed that some of the analysts at the HPD lab were
undertrained and had performed shoddy work for years with little
oversight. Errors were uncovered in analyses from several of the lab's
disciplines, including DNA, serology and ballistics, and 2 men were
released from prison after errors in the work used to convict them were
exposed.
The release of the second man - George Rodriguez, who served more than 17
years for a rape and kidnapping he did not commit - prompted Hurtt to hire
Bromwich, a former U.S. inspector general who investigated problems at the
FBI crime lab.
Since then, HPD's crime lab has been accredited by a national crime lab
organization. The certification, required by a new state law, ensures only
that labs meet minimum standards. Some, however, including Montalvo,
suggest that being accredited makes moot any future work Bromwich might
do.
Others, including Councilwoman Ada Edwards, disagree.
"Accreditation is a minimum," she said. "We have seen other labs get
accredited and still have problems. To say that we don't need (Bromwich)
is faulty."
Last week, the Stakeholders Committee, to which Bromwich's team reports,
unanimously recommended approving the $1.5 million. One member, Controller
Annise Parker, thinks the council has been waiting on Hurtt's approval to
continue the investigation.
"We don't think the chief should be in the position of deciding when the
investigation is over, because then that's the police department
investigating the police department," she said.
Parker also notes that when Bromwich submitted his bid to investigate the
lab, no one knew how much it eventually would cost or what new problems
might be uncovered.
Even one of Bromwich's competitors for the contract, Lee L. Kaplan,
agreed. Kaplan, who submitted a losing bid for between $3 million and $5.3
million, recently sent a letter urging the mayor and council to approve
the $1.5 million.
"Given the significant problems uncovered by this investigation," he
wrote, "the amount requested is within reason and the importance to the
entire community of completing an independent investigation is
compelling."
(source: Houston Chronicle)
million in additional funds
The only comprehensive investigation of the Houston crime lab remains on
hold, 3 months after dwindling funds stalled the probe that first exposed
evidence of serious problems such as falsified test results and the
tailoring of reports to fit police theories.
While Police Chief Harold Hurtt has expressed support for completing the
inquiry, another high-ranking police official has said it is not worth the
$1.5 million investigators are seeking. Several City Council members also
have raised doubts, and Mayor Bill White has been noncommittal.
"Somehow, the shock value of (the scandal) has dissipated over time," said
Michael Bromwich, a former U.S. Justice Department official overseeing the
probe into problems that were first revealed in 2002.
"It's a troubling thought that there could have been a significant number
of defendants in prison based on shoddy, inadequate and flawed serology
work and that people are seemingly reluctant to find out the truth about
their cases," Bromwich said Monday.
A vote on further funding has not been scheduled, but could take place
before the end of September. To date, the probe has cost the city $3.8
million.
With that money, Bromwich and his team of lawyers and scientists have
reviewed about 2,300 cases from the Houston Police Department crime lab's
disciplines, including DNA profiling, blood-type analyses called serology
tests, firearms tests and drug tests. The team has identified 93 cases in
which DNA or serology tests had "major issues" that raise doubts about HPD
analysts' conclusions.
The team is seeking to complete its review of serology tests, develop
recommendations for how to prevent further problems and write its final
report. The investigators expanded the scope of their review of serology
cases, with the support of HPD and a committee from different parts of the
justice system to which it reports, after uncovering "severe and pervasive
problems."
The current delay is the second in which city officials have weighed
whether to let it continue. In summer 2005, the probe was put on hold for
nearly 8 weeks before the City Council approved an additional $1.2
million.
Bromwich and HPD approached the council about the current need for money
in June. Since then, some council members and a top HPD official have
voiced doubts.
"My question to Mr. Bromwich is, basically, 'What are you going to provide
in that $1.5 million that we haven't already received?' " Executive
Assistant Police Chief Martha Montalvo said at a July 25 council committee
meeting.
Hurtt, however, has said he would like to see Bromwich complete the probe.
"The money would have to be worked out by City Council," he said after
Montalvo's comments, "but we ought to let him finish up his job."
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, who last year provided
$500,000 to help with the probe, agreed Monday that the team should be
allowed to complete its work.
Bromwich was hired in March 2005, more than 2 years after problems first
were exposed at the lab. Before then, news reports and other smaller
inquiries revealed that some of the analysts at the HPD lab were
undertrained and had performed shoddy work for years with little
oversight. Errors were uncovered in analyses from several of the lab's
disciplines, including DNA, serology and ballistics, and 2 men were
released from prison after errors in the work used to convict them were
exposed.
The release of the second man - George Rodriguez, who served more than 17
years for a rape and kidnapping he did not commit - prompted Hurtt to hire
Bromwich, a former U.S. inspector general who investigated problems at the
FBI crime lab.
Since then, HPD's crime lab has been accredited by a national crime lab
organization. The certification, required by a new state law, ensures only
that labs meet minimum standards. Some, however, including Montalvo,
suggest that being accredited makes moot any future work Bromwich might
do.
Others, including Councilwoman Ada Edwards, disagree.
"Accreditation is a minimum," she said. "We have seen other labs get
accredited and still have problems. To say that we don't need (Bromwich)
is faulty."
Last week, the Stakeholders Committee, to which Bromwich's team reports,
unanimously recommended approving the $1.5 million. One member, Controller
Annise Parker, thinks the council has been waiting on Hurtt's approval to
continue the investigation.
"We don't think the chief should be in the position of deciding when the
investigation is over, because then that's the police department
investigating the police department," she said.
Parker also notes that when Bromwich submitted his bid to investigate the
lab, no one knew how much it eventually would cost or what new problems
might be uncovered.
Even one of Bromwich's competitors for the contract, Lee L. Kaplan,
agreed. Kaplan, who submitted a losing bid for between $3 million and $5.3
million, recently sent a letter urging the mayor and council to approve
the $1.5 million.
"Given the significant problems uncovered by this investigation," he
wrote, "the amount requested is within reason and the importance to the
entire community of completing an independent investigation is
compelling."
(source: Houston Chronicle)