Fort Worth crime lab must rebuild credibility | Opinion
The testing lapses were so concerning that the lab had to provide Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells in September with a list of analysts deemed to have been “out of compliance with proficiency monitoring requirements,” according to the report. It said those analysts worked on more than 1,300 various types of forensic cases., the third since 2020, that he had no concerns about the quality of evidence analysis at the lab.
The Fort Worth Police Department did not respond to our questions regarding the report. But we note that the commission found no professional misconduct by lab personnel and said they cooperated with the investigation and took corrective actions even as the commission continued to look into the problems.
Investigators also noted that their previous concerns about files deleted by the interim quality manager earlier this year turned out to be unfounded. And they commended lab officials for hiring a new quality manager, calling that a “good start.”But that manager will need “support and resources to meet the many diverse challenges facing the crime laboratory,” the report said.
In 2021, the panel investigated a whistleblower complaint alleging corruption and misconduct in the lab’s DNA section. While it found no misconduct, it said the lab’s quality division “needs to be strengthened considerably” and that management should improve its policy regarding disclosure to the district attorney’s office of potentially exculpatory evidence.
A Dallas judge last June dismissed a lawsuit filed by that whistleblower against the city of Fort Worth, but the 5th District Court of Appeals reversed that ruling last month.that longtime lab director Michael Ward left his job on June 14, and police declined to say whether he had resigned or been fired. Regardless, the police department must heed the commission and provide the lab the resources and leadership it needs to rebuild its tarnished reputation.
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