Unsecured evidence / Employee suspension reminds Houstonians of crime lab's vulnerability to personnel problems

Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: Fri 08/10/2007

Section: B Page: 10 Edition: 3 STAR

HOUSTON Police Chief Harold Hurtt recently rejected calls for a special master to finish reviewing about 600 cases that might have been tainted by improper or incompetent handling of evidence by the department's crime lab. Hurtt said he was responsible for the operation of the lab and didn't need a special master to do things right.

The recent suspension of a narcotics analyst reminds Houstonians how hard it is to get things right at the lab. The employee's alleged erratic behavior and inadequate securing of narcotics used as evidence alerted superiors to a problem. About 200 cases handled by the analyst this year will have to be reviewed.

At least Chief Hurtt's crime lab director, Irma Rios, and her staff detected the problem and decisively removed the cause. The employee was suspended, with pay, after he declined to give a formal statement and submit to a drug test. Hurtt's predecessor, Chief C.O. Bradford, knew of festering problems at the lab but did little or nothing to fix them.

The suspended lab employee, like all U.S. residents, enjoys the right not to incriminate himself. He can't be forced to make a statement or be tested. However, as crime lab employees are subject to random drug testing and testing for cause, an employee who refuses a test should be fired outright, saving the taxpayers the cost of his salary. It is unlikely the employee will be reinstated, threatening the integrity of more criminal prosecutions.

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