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Virginia Beach Police used forged forensic documents in interrogations
Virginia Beach Police used forged forensic documents in interrogations
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Legal Issues
Virginia Beach Police used forged forensic documents in interrogations
By Rachel Weiner
Today at 7:02 p.m. EST
Police in Virginia Beach repeatedly used forged documents purporting to be from the state Department of Forensic Science during interrogations, falsely allowing suspects to believe DNA or other forensic evidence had tied them to a crime, the state attorney general revealed Wednesday in announcing an agreement to ban the practice.
“This was an extremely troubling and potentially unconstitutional tactic that abused the name of the Commonwealth to try to coerce confessions,” Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) said in a statement. “It also abused the good name and reputation of the Commonwealth’s hard-working forensic scientists and professionals who work hard to provide accurate, solid evidence in support of our law enforcement agencies.”
The Virginia Beach Police Department said in a statement that the technique, “though legal, was not in the spirit of what the community expects.” The department said it stopped employing the tactic before it learned of the attorney general’s investigation.
Officials said the practice was discovered in April 2021, when an assistant commonwealth’s attorney asked the Virginia Department of Forensic Science for a certified copy of a report that turned out not to exist. Police Chief Paul Neudigate was notified and immediately moved to prohibit the use of inauthentic documents in a May 1 directive. Reviewing thousands of cases, the department found five instances between March 2016 and February 2020 where fake DFS records were used in interrogations. The attorney general’s office opened its own investigation and this week confirmed those findings. ... One of those forged documents was presented in a bail hearing as evidence, Herring said.
{snip}
Jasmine Hilton contributed to this report.
By Rachel Weiner
Rachel Weiner tries to cover Alexandria's federal court from a small windowless room with no cellphone access. She sometimes ventures outside to write about crime in Alexandria and Arlington. Twitter https://twitter.com/rachelweinerwp
Virginia Beach Police used forged forensic documents in interrogations
By Rachel Weiner
Today at 7:02 p.m. EST
Police in Virginia Beach repeatedly used forged documents purporting to be from the state Department of Forensic Science during interrogations, falsely allowing suspects to believe DNA or other forensic evidence had tied them to a crime, the state attorney general revealed Wednesday in announcing an agreement to ban the practice.
“This was an extremely troubling and potentially unconstitutional tactic that abused the name of the Commonwealth to try to coerce confessions,” Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) said in a statement. “It also abused the good name and reputation of the Commonwealth’s hard-working forensic scientists and professionals who work hard to provide accurate, solid evidence in support of our law enforcement agencies.”
The Virginia Beach Police Department said in a statement that the technique, “though legal, was not in the spirit of what the community expects.” The department said it stopped employing the tactic before it learned of the attorney general’s investigation.
Officials said the practice was discovered in April 2021, when an assistant commonwealth’s attorney asked the Virginia Department of Forensic Science for a certified copy of a report that turned out not to exist. Police Chief Paul Neudigate was notified and immediately moved to prohibit the use of inauthentic documents in a May 1 directive. Reviewing thousands of cases, the department found five instances between March 2016 and February 2020 where fake DFS records were used in interrogations. The attorney general’s office opened its own investigation and this week confirmed those findings. ... One of those forged documents was presented in a bail hearing as evidence, Herring said.
{snip}
Jasmine Hilton contributed to this report.
By Rachel Weiner
Rachel Weiner tries to cover Alexandria's federal court from a small windowless room with no cellphone access. She sometimes ventures outside to write about crime in Alexandria and Arlington. Twitter https://twitter.com/rachelweinerwp
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