Pubdate: Sun, 23 Jun 2013
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2013 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Contact:  http://www.telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/509
Note: Rarely prints LTEs from outside circulation area - requires 
'Letter to the Editor' in subject
Author: Shaun Sutner

DRUG LAB SCANDAL CAUSES OLD EVIDENCE TO PILE UP

Disgraced former state chemist Annie Dookhan almost single-handedly 
brought the state's drug testing system to a standstill and cast 
doubt on tens of thousands of drug convictions.

Now it turns out the indicted chemist has also triggered the shutdown 
of the wide-ranging system of destroying drug evidence that is no 
longer needed for criminal prosecution, causing a massive backlog of 
old drug evidence in barracks and police stations statewide.

State public safety authorities last July ordered an indefinite 
moratorium on the destruction of drug evidence.

That stoppage is still in effect and is likely to remain so at least 
until the state Inspector General completes a report on the state 
Department of Public Health's two former drug testing labs, which 
have since been taken over by the state police.

Meanwhile, state police evidence experts are developing guidelines 
for use by all law enforcement agencies -- including the state police 
and local police departments across the state -- on best practices 
for getting rid of old drug evidence.

While state law sets out a process for police to go through local 
district attorneys to obtain court orders to destroy drug evidence, 
it does not stipulate how long departments can hold items or how soon 
they have to dispose of material after a case is closed.

But long before the scandal that was sparked by Annie Dookhan, the 
retention of drug evidence at the Southboro Police Department was a 
growing problem. A fired former officer accused the department of 
shoddy drug evidence procedures that apparently has resulted in more 
than 745 such items, dating as far back as 1992, being stockpiled at 
the department.

"The protocols that are being established are still a work in 
progress," said state police spokesman David Procopio.

Mr. Procopio said that when the state police inherited the DPH labs 
- -- where both testing and drug destruction was done -- "there were no 
clear guidelines on how it was to be done."

With drugs piling up in barracks and police stations, Mr. Procopio 
said state police officials asked state Trial Court administrators 
this month if they could again begin incinerating old drugs but were 
told to hold off until the Inspector General's report.

"We can understand the court's concern, but our concern is we're 
going to run out of storage space," Mr. Procopio said.

Jack Myers, a spokesman for Inspector General Glenn A. Cunha said the 
IG's report will be done by the end of the year.

The IG's investigation has been a time-consuming process requiring 
the scanning of some 2 million physical records from the former DPH 
labs in Boston and Amherst, Mr. Myers said.

The Amherst lab has been temporarily closed, with drug testing 
transferred to University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.

Michael Ehrlich, a Worcester criminal defense lawyer, said the 
moratorium is probably a wise move, given the disarray in the drug 
analysis system and the lack of guidance in state law.

"I think it's reasonable," Mr. Ehrlich said. "You can't keep drugs 
for infinity.

"But it's also logical to have each individual DA's office make 
decisions on individual cases," he said.

But Mr. Ehrlich added that in rare instances, old cases can be 
re-opened with new trials, years after evidence has been destroyed, 
so that is why judges weigh cases individually as well.

Through a spokesman, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. 
said he would reserve comment on what he thinks is the best course of 
action for destroying old drug evidence.

"We are waiting for the state police guidelines to determine the best 
practices for destruction," Mr. Early said in an email through a spokesman.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom