PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "After her first complaint, Crutcher wrote that she was placed on administrative leave in June because she “could not work in the lab while slandering the lab,” according to the report. This is at least the second time this year that policy violations at the crime lab have been reported by Crutcher. In August, Tarrant County visiting judge Elizabeth Berry filed a 32-page report based on testimony from lab employees, including Crutcher, that showed the “DNA submission form” documents had possibly been filled out incorrectly for at least two years."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: by Reporter Nichole Manna, published by The Star-Telegram on October 14, 2020. (Thanks to Dr. Michael Bowers of CSIDDS: Forensics and Law in Focus, for bringing this story to our attention. HL.)
GIST: "A whistleblower complaint filed by a Fort Worth Police Crime Laboratory employee describes an extreme lag in testing of child sexual abuse cases, falsification of records and policy violations that could affect hundreds of criminal cases, including death penalty investigations.
Trisa Crutcher filed the 174-page report in July with the Fort Worth Police Department, FBI and the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which investigates complaints at accredited state labs
The report, which is not public, was obtained by the Star-Telegram through a source. Crutcher declined to comment.
Asked if any issues raised in the report might affect cases, Larry Moore, chief of the criminal division of the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement: “According to our office’s review of the report and the FWPD Crime Lab employee’s testimony, the accuracy of the outcome of testing is valid and the science is sound. The report has been turned over to the Forensic Science Commission and we are waiting for their analysis.”
Crutcher previously reported the issues to the police department, which investigated its lab and found no wrongdoing, according to the report. Sgt. Merle Green, who oversaw the investigations, is on the district attorney’s Brady list, meaning his credibility has been flagged by the office based on problems with his truthfulness, honesty or bias in the past.
Crutcher questions whether the police department — and Green — should be able to investigate itself on the matters she raises and said in the report there were times when her complaints were never investigated.
After her first complaint, Crutcher wrote that she was placed on administrative leave in June because she “could not work in the lab while slandering the lab,” according to the report.
This is at least the second time this year that policy violations at the crime lab have been reported by Crutcher.
In August, Tarrant County visiting judge Elizabeth Berry filed a 32-page report based on testimony from lab employees, including Crutcher, that showed the “DNA submission form” documents had possibly been filled out incorrectly for at least two years.
A statement from the police department said it is aware of the allegations that have been made and “is committed to both ensuring a thorough investigation is conducted and maintaining communication about this matter with the proper agencies.”
The statement said an internal audit was conducted and it did not substantiate the complaint.
Despite the police department saying it investigated Crutcher’s complaint and found no wrongdoing, Berry wrote that Crutcher was a reliable witness and there was no evidence that she lied.
TESTING BACKLOGS
Crutcher wrote in the report that child sexual assault cases average more than a year of delay in testing, which has created a backlog of more than 100 cases over four years.
The delays often resulted in missed court dates by forensic experts and delayed justice for child victims, Crutcher wrote.
When she reported this finding to police in May 2019, she said the department didn’t find anything wrong with the delays and that she was told by lab officials that “nobody believes you.” The issue was dismissed. She said that Michael Ward, the lab’s director, “instructed the Biology Unit to consider homicide cases as the Lab’s priority due to ‘politics.’”
In her report, Crutcher footnotes evidence of her claims by linking to emails and notes taken during biology lab meetings. Those documents weren’t provided to the Star-Telegram. Public record requests for those documents were not immediately returned or were denied because the emails are no longer available.
The report says that Cassie Johnson, Crutcher’s supervisor, knew about the backlog but resisted Crutcher’s pleas to change the system and give child sexual abuse cases priority. Crutcher also wrote that Johnson purposefully delays testing in death penalty cases because the work is labor intensive. The report doesn’t say what type of case should take priority.
“Johnson skips over assigning death penalty cases until the DA’s office pushes for a due date,” Crutcher wrote.
The report says that employee Sundaye Lopez — who is at the center of the judge’s investigation into the DNA submission forms being filled out incorrectly — is regularly contacted by the district attorney’s office and detectives about missed court dates and excessive delays.
Johnson and Lopez did not return a request for comment.
“Since Lopez started doing approvals in 2014, there are routinely approximately 50 to 100 cases awaiting approval by Lopez in Property Connect,” Crutcher wrote. “At most, there have been approximately 400 cases backlogged and waiting for approval by Lopez sitting for months and years.”
In regards to the child sexual assault cases, Crutcher wrote that Johnson claimed no one at the DA’s office was complaining about the lag. However, Crutcher said that prosecutors have been “completely in the blind concerning the Crime Lab’s sidelining of child cases and other cases.”
Crutcher wrote that Johnson has obtained multiple grants through the National Institute of Justice that are supposed to be applied toward that backlog reduction but instead hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on unused software and equipment.
“Johnson uses grant money to outsource sexual assault cases that are not likely to go to court for prosecution,” Crutcher wrote. “This is a misuse of grant money, as well as waste and abuse of government funds.”
OTHER ISSUED RAISED
Crutcher details several other issues in the report, from nonexistent units being used in cases to an unqualified employee being involved in evidence testing.
Crutcher wrote that dozens of reports from the “photography unit” or “evidence screening unit” have somehow been released in capital murder cases, but those units don’t exist.
Employees have been directed by Johnson and Ward to sign reports stating they are from the nonexistent units, the report says.
Another issue Crutcher raises is with the level of responsibility and access to cases that Ward has given to Lopez. Judge Berry investigated issues with the DNA Submission Form being incorrectly filled out, particularly with the question of whether a DNA sample in any particular case can be consumed — meaning the scientist either can use part or all of a DNA sample during testing.
For the lab to have permission to consume a sample, the OK must be given by the case investigator. This is in line with FBI protocols and policies at crime labs across the country.
However, Lopez, who is the crime lab’s liaison with the police department, has been signing the permission to consume documents herself, in violation of the policy, according to Berry’s report. According to Lopez’s testimony, the former lab director gave her permission to help detectives fill out the DNA submission form, and that permission was continued by Ward, according to the document.
But Crutcher raises more problems with Lopez’s work in the whistleblower complaint. She wrote that Ward allows Lopez to perform evidence screening exams and release reports on behalf of the Biology Unit, despite not being a member and not having the qualifications. Crutcher wrote that access to the Biology Unit by non-members is a violation of the lab policy and FBI Quality Assurance Standards.
She wrote that Ward lets Lopez meet with detectives to determine the best type of DNA evidence to test in cases even though she has failed the DNA training at the lab.
When Crutcher confronted Ward in 2018 about her concerns, he said “The customers don’t care about how we get our results. They only care if it’s blood and whose DNA it is,” she wrote.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article246400650.html
--------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: See Star-Telegram story by Reporter Nichole Manna, published on November 13, 2020, under the heading, "Worker who reported violations at Fort Worth police crime lab alleges retaliation, at the link below: "Ward retaliated against Crutcher in several ways over the last two years, according to the lawsuit, including putting her on administrative leave in June. Crutcher said a police employee told her it was because she continued to slander the crime lab by reporting the alleged violations, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says the lab’s leadership created a hostile work environment over the last two years. Before her first report, Crutcher received good performance evaluations but after her complaints, she received negative and unsubstantiated comments regarding her performance, according to the lawsuit. Crutcher fears the city is gearing up to terminate her. The lawsuit seeks $200,000 to $1 million in damages against the city."
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article247173129.html
--------------------------------------------------------------
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
