Dangerous Debris, Evidence, Left in Abandoned Detroit Police Crime Lab
May 28th, 2011Via: Detroit Free Press:
Thousands of rounds of live ammunition, sealed evidence kits and case files — some containing Social Security numbers of rape and assault victims — lay amid rubble in a crime lab abandoned by Detroit police two years ago.
The Free Press discovered the ruins this week. Judicial experts expressed shock that evidence would be handled so recklessly.
“It’s incomprehensible that any law enforcement agency would not be mindful to preserve evidence,” Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny said.
Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr., told about the crime lab Thursday, launched an immediate investigation. “I will make sure that this never happens again,” he said.
The lab, housed in a former elementary school in Brush Park, was ordered closed in 2008 because of sloppy investigations. It’s now littered with tools, computers, TVs, cameras and microscopes, in addition to the other items.
The lab was open to trespassers for at least the past week. Parts of a fence around the perimeter have collapsed, and a window was broken. As recently as Monday, the front door was ajar.
After Free Press inquiries, police arrived Thursday to scan the building, and a private security detail was on duty in the evening.
Research Credit: swampy
Note to self: opportunities for free rounds and other gear will be popping up in similar cities… stay alert.
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fo shizzle
my nizzle.