Local News

I-Team: BPD Drug Evidence Tampered With, Missing

BPD's Evidence Management Investigation (pdf)

BOSTON (WBZ) ― In another embarrassing stain on the beleaguered Boston Police Department, an internal audit has found that drug evidence has been tampered with or is missing altogether in nearly 1,000 cases, the I-Team has learned.

The stunning discovery has led Commissioner Edward F. Davis to order a top-to-bottom review of departmental procedures governing criminal evidence in the wake of the findings detailed in a 14-month audit of drugs stored at the Hyde Park warehouse.

Department officials also ignored warnings by internal auditors in 2004 that there were serious security flaws at the drug depository.

"This is the first thing and it's a big one and it needs to be fixed right away," Davis said. "This is not a case of a few bad apples. There is more of a problem here than a few bad apples but it is not a pervasive problem. It's police integrity that we're holding up here and making sure that we're doing the right thing."

The FBI and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office are investigating whether to charge anyone with a crime resulting from the missing evidence, which includes heroin, cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs.

In 90 cases involving evidence like pills or tablets, someone removed the drugs and replaced them with aspirin or Tylenol, Davis said.

The audit also indicates an employee hid marijuana at the depository possibly to confuse auditors last fall.

Conley is also reviewing hundreds of cases in which the evidence was tampered with, labeling operations at the depository "long-term neglect and mismanagement."

He said in a statement that officers engaged in a scheme to steal drugs and specifically "targeted cases that had already been disposed in court."

The majority of cases now in question date back to the 1990's, when former Commissioner Paul F. Evans ran the department.

However, drugs were also found missing last year after auditors had completed part of their work and did a second inspection.

Davis moved all 12 officers working at the depository at the time into other positions. "I can assure you that every stone will be unturned to find out what happened down there," Davis said.
The audit also found the state drug lab made mistakes in identifying and analyzing drugs, raising serious concerns about the lab's operations.

The massive security breach at the drug depository could also open the door to hundreds of appeals by criminals who served time for drug offenses - adding to the public cost the decades-old shoddy security at the drug depository has now created.

Davis said he is confident that the discrepancies do not affect anyone currently is prison but it could affect people awaiting trial.

The audit also revealed that in one case other evidence on completed cases sat languishing in the West Roxbury court - including a firearm that should have been returned to the department's ballistic unit.

Boston is the second major law enforcement unit in the state in recent years to have a widespread problem with missing drugs.

In 2006, a Massachusetts state trooper was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of stealing 13 kilograms of cocaine and other drugs from the force.

In 2005, the former head of the Narcotics Inspection Unit admitted under oath there were no written procedures for sergeants picking up drugs at state police barracks across the state and delivering them to the Framingham evidence bunker.

The exhaustive BPD review, which will result in a walloping overtime bill for city taxpayers, was conducted by members of the BPD's Auditing and Review Division and was completed on Dec. 11.

Among the key findings:

- 265 drug cases were tampered with and 700 cases were missing from shelves in the drug depository.

- Cases that were reported to have been delivered to court for criminal proceedings never were delivered.

- Cases several years old were never processed by BPD employees or analyzed by the state Drug Lab.

- The department has relied on two significantly flawed databases to track drug evidence for decades.

- Supervision at the depository was inadequate and "may continue to be a significant source of Departmental exposure."

- Items were stored without ever being inventoried.

- There was widespread violation of department rules governing the depository's operations.

- Only one camera was in operation at the warehouse until several months ago when Davis installed an additional 21.

- Troubled employees, particularly those who violated the department's substance abuse policies, were frequently sent to work at the drug depository.

- The drug vault was left open when it was not in use and personnel were allowed to go into the vault alone.

The department has committed $100,000 to create a new drug evidence management database to replace the two systems riddled with inaccurate information, the audit states.

The audit is the latest in a continuing series of blows to the department that Davis has had to deal with since becoming commissioner in 2006, including a paid-detail abuse scandal, officers sent to federal prison for dealing drugs and cheating on the detective's exam.

Davis acknowledged it has been a trying year for him at the BPD helm. "But the bulk of the officers that I've dealt with in this police department are hardworking, honest, dedicated officers that literally risk their lives for the safety of the people living in the city of Boston."

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