Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 6:02:38 GMT -5
Crime lab probe tab to grow by $1.5 million
The City Council on Wednesday approved spending an additional $1.5 million
to complete an independent investigation of the police crime lab that has
already cost the city nearly $4 million.
After months of delay, during which Mayor Bill White, several council
members and a high-ranking police official questioned whether more money
should be allocated to the project, the panel approved the funding without
discussion.
White said after the meeting he is confident this will be the last time
the city puts money toward the investigation, which began in March 2005.
"I wanted to make sure that we were going to get value for what we asked
for and that this would not be perpetual," White said.
The city hired lead investigator Michael Bromwich, a former U.S. Justice
Department official, to investigate the crime lab more than 2 years after
problems there came to light. 2 men had been released from prison because
of inaccurate work on evidence from their cases.
The independent team of lawyers and scientists conducting the project have
reviewed about 2,300 cases from the Houston Police Department crime lab.
HPD's conclusions about evidence in 93 cases may be inaccurate, they say.
The project initially was expected to cost about $3.2 million. City
Council 1st allocated $2.2 million, then agreed to pay $1.6 million more.
In June, Bromwich asked for an additional $1.5 million to complete
testing. It was needed because the scope of the project expanded at the
request of council members after scientists found widespread problems, he
said.
The most recent payment brings the total cost of the probe to $5.3
million.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
The City Council on Wednesday approved spending an additional $1.5 million
to complete an independent investigation of the police crime lab that has
already cost the city nearly $4 million.
After months of delay, during which Mayor Bill White, several council
members and a high-ranking police official questioned whether more money
should be allocated to the project, the panel approved the funding without
discussion.
White said after the meeting he is confident this will be the last time
the city puts money toward the investigation, which began in March 2005.
"I wanted to make sure that we were going to get value for what we asked
for and that this would not be perpetual," White said.
The city hired lead investigator Michael Bromwich, a former U.S. Justice
Department official, to investigate the crime lab more than 2 years after
problems there came to light. 2 men had been released from prison because
of inaccurate work on evidence from their cases.
The independent team of lawyers and scientists conducting the project have
reviewed about 2,300 cases from the Houston Police Department crime lab.
HPD's conclusions about evidence in 93 cases may be inaccurate, they say.
The project initially was expected to cost about $3.2 million. City
Council 1st allocated $2.2 million, then agreed to pay $1.6 million more.
In June, Bromwich asked for an additional $1.5 million to complete
testing. It was needed because the scope of the project expanded at the
request of council members after scientists found widespread problems, he
said.
The most recent payment brings the total cost of the probe to $5.3
million.
(source: Houston Chronicle)