HPD released the following statement concerning the boxes of evidence
found in the warehouse:
As part of Police Chief Harold Hurtt’s ongoing review of the handling
of evidence in the Houston Police Department’s Crime Lab, investigators
have found additional boxes of Crime Lab evidence in the Department’s
Property Room that may have been improperly labeled and stored.
Preliminary information indicates that about 280 boxes of evidence,
which dates from the late 1970s to early 1990s, are involved. They
likely were mislabeled during resubmission to the Property Room from the
Crime Lab. IAD investigators found, in August of 2003, approximately
280 additional boxes of Crime Lab evidence in the Property Room that was
submitted by various Crime Lab personnel. Investigators were unaware of
the contents within the boxes and delayed examination of such based upon
markings on the boxes indicating the evidence was pre-DNA material.
Instead, they focused on DNA and other Crime Lab-related priorities
known to them at the time. Investigators began their review of the
boxes last week and preliminary information indicates that the evidence
was improperly labeled and stored during its resubmission to the
Property Room from the Crime Lab.
Under “Project 280,” Chief Harold Hurtt ordered each box be opened and
the contents inventoried, catalogued, and linked to the appropriate
case. Project 280 is the systematic process of reviewing,
supplementing, and forwarding each case to the appropriate investigative
division for additional action. If new leads are found, they are
pursued and testing of evidence will be sent to outside laboratories for
analysis. New case developments are being discussed with the Harris
County District Attorney’s office. “This is exactly what I asked the
Chief to do—a thorough review of issues related to forensic evidence and
how we address them,” said Mayor Bill White. “The Chief got right on it
and we’re seeing the results. Our system of archiving evidence is
unacceptable and he is addressing it. He has my full support and
confidence.”
In November 2002, the Houston Police Department Crime Lab came under
scrutiny due to a well-published independent audit as well as newscasts
aired by Channel 11. Local newscasts highlighted seven criminal cases,
one of which was the Jose Nieto case.
Internal Affairs Division personnel investigated the Nieto case for both
criminal and administrative violations. As a result of the probe, no
criminal violations were identified, yet, several administrative
violations were discovered.
Specifically, as a part of the Nieto investigation, it was found that
James Bolding, former DNA Section Supervisor, had inappropriately
documented other property, not related to the Nieto case, which had been
tagged in the Property Room. This eventually led to the opening of an
inquiry by the Internal Affairs Division (IAD). The inquiry found that
too much property was accumulating in the Crime Lab. To alleviate this
condition, well-established procedures were violated and shortcuts were
taken by lab personnel when completing the documents necessary to
properly tag evidence into the Property Room. Because of these
administrative violations, the inquiry became an official IAD
investigation.
Computerized records were scrutinized regarding Mr. Bolding’s Property
Room submissions. Investigators discovered that Mr. Bolding was
responsible for improperly documenting approximately 900 evidence
submissions. Of these submissions, some of the evidence was found in
large boxes stored in the Property Room.
Currently, we have examined nearly 5% of an estimated 8,000 cases that
may be related to evidence improperly stored. In order to prevent
cross-contamination or degradation, and to ensure proper documentation,
inventory, preservation, and retesting of evidence by outside
laboratories, the process is very methodical and deliberate. We have
people working on it in two shifts a day, seven days a week. The entire
process is expected to take about a year.
All petitions for retesting under Chapter 64 of the Code of Criminal
procedure will be compared with organized archives. The District
Attorney’s Office has agreed to work with us to ensure that any evidence
linked to an adjudicated case is available for retesting and/or review
as provided by law. We are in the process of determining if any of the
evidence within these 280 boxes may be linked to the 379 DNA retest
cases requested by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
The Houston Police Department is also seeking advice and counsel of
experienced, outside experts to oversee our efforts in this evidentiary
review process. Other experts from the field are assisting our agency
with our redesign and rehabilitation of the Crime Lab. This review
process should not slow or impede our progress toward national
accreditation in this area.
The Houston Police Department will continue to review, modify, and make
changes necessary to establish checks and balances designed to ensure
that such procedural violations are not replicated. The Houston Police
Department is also committed to establishing standards that meet and/or
exceed national accreditation standards for forensic analysis. Some of
our changes include detailed and enhanced Crime Lab operations manuals,
specialized training, and competency/proficiency testing. We have also
requested grant funding for a Laboratory Information Management System
(LIMS) that allows for computerized tracking of evidence, chain of
custody, and production of final reports. This advanced management tool
provides a mechanism for reconciling various computerized systems into
one information database capable of linking operations such as the Crime
Lab, Property Room, and Homicide Division.
In addition, our Property Room is in the process of implementing an
evidence management system, designed to track and account for all
evidence tagged and stored. This new system is designed to prevent this
type of improper submissions. The Property Room has also increased its
staffing to include two full-time auditors to ensure compliance with
administrative procedures concerning the tagging, storage, and inventory
of evidence. In addition, Chief Hurtt has authorized the hiring of
several outside experts to assist the department in overcoming and
rectifying the inadequacies found so far. This includes an overall
project manager and other on-site investigators or coaches as needed.
Furthermore, Chief Hurtt has decided to seek FULL departmental
accreditation, not just accreditation for the crime lab.
The Houston Police Department is committed to the continual process of
self-examination and improvement through internal and external review.
It is only through this process that the Houston Police Department can
continue to improve our service to the citizens of the city of Houston.
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