Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: AUGUST 2016 9 F irst there was the drug lab scandal in Massachusetts. Then it was New Jersey’s turn. Now, welcome to Oregon – the latest state where evi- dence used in criminal cases involving narcotics turns out to be totally bogus. Investigators suspected it was the standard drug lab/evidence room problem of theft and hopefully only involved a couple cases. But they soon noticed that drugs were missing from other cases where the lab tech worked. The woman at the center of the scandal even stole drug evidence from cases she wasn’t working. Soon the number of possibly con- taminated convictions grew from just one to 1,500. And that’s just from one county. The woman that falsified tests in the Massachusetts crime lab allegedly did so because she really liked police officers and prosecu- tors. The lady in Oregon alleg- edly just liked to get high – a lot. Talk about a dream job. No one’s getting too worked up about tossing 1500 drug convictions. There’s plenty more in the pipeline where they came from. The problem here, as is in- creasingly the case after Or- lando, is the fact that crime labs and private prison com- panies are failing to screen personnel on the front end of their employment. That’s how you get an ad- dict working in the drug lab and a self-loathing homicid- al maniac guarding federal courthouses after he was hired by G4S. Needless to say, this is rather large problem for the local DA. District Attorney John Hummel is vowing to re- examine each conviction, arguing that revisiting them is critical to ensure that the public has confidence in the justice system. So far, he has recom- mended just 10 convictions be overturned. “I want people to say: ‘You know what? When the DA stands up and says he thinks someone is guilty, he is doing that based on solid evidence,’” Hummel told the Associated Press. That sounds reasonable, counselor. Especially con- sidering the fact that Nika Larsen, the lab technician, was replacing meth with over the counter CVS meds for God only knows how long. Crime labs crisis is now a national affair I’ve never had a problem with drugs. I’ve had problems with the police. – Keith Richards First it was Massachusetts, then New Jersey and now Oregon Pelican Products, Inc. 23215 Early Avenue, Torrance, CA 90505 866.838.9285 (TOLL FREE) • Tel 310.326.4700 •Fax 310.326.3311 All trademarks are registered and/or unregistered trademarks of Pelican Products, Inc., its affiliates and/or subsidiaries. With new airline-friendly form factors, Pelican™ Air will lighten the load of those talented and dedicated pros who set out to change the game and set the standards for others to follow. Now more than ever, when serious pros need to protect the tools of their trade, they will reach for Pelican Air. NOTHING PROTECTS LIKE A PELICAN CASE CAN. GUARANTEED FOR LIFE. See the new line of cases at www.pelican.com/air UP TO 40% LIGHTER. FLOATSLIKEABUTTERFLY. PROTECTSLIKEAPELICAN.