In the light of all the LAPD publicity you may wonder if it could be worse. Read this, and you will find that it could.

Roanoke (VA) Times & World News
February 19, 2000
*****'s Ex-Top Cops 'Unsuitable and Unqualified' per Grand Jury Report
By Kimberly O'Brien, Staff Writer Zeke Barlow contributed

Marijuana burned in barrels and flushed down toilets. Stolen weapons recovered but not returned to owners. Bikes for needy children given to the police department's families and friends. Slush funds. Unlawful arrests. Intimidation of witnesses. The list goes on, but that's what a special grand jury investigating the ***** Police Department found. The details, made public Friday in a 24-page report, paint a picture of two cops who the jury described as "unsuitable and unqualified" to have held the positions they did.

The details also, according to the report, back up the decision of ***** town officials to force the resignations of Chief * * * * * and Lt. ***** shortly after the investigation began last fall. "Neither have the leadership ability or the management skills required for the positions of chief and assistant chief of police for the town of *****," the jury wrote. "In our opinion, town officials would have been derelict in their duties had they permitted either ***** or ***** to remain at the PD in any capacity."

Town officials said Friday they were "thankful" and "relieved" that the report had been made public. Town Attorney ***** said the report should make clear to the public why council had to take the actions it did in asking for the two officers' resignations.

The special grand jury began meeting in November to investigate allegations about possible wrongdoing in the police department. After more than three months, the jury released a report showing evidence of improper handling of public funds, drugs and weapons. The jury also pointed to ***** as the source of the department's problems for ruling by "fear, intimidation and retribution." And while the investigation centered on * * * * *, the jury said *****, described as an "apathetic chief," was also to blame for choosing to blindly ignore complaints.

"It troubles us that the problems were apparent to almost every single member of the PO, with the notable exception of the chief," the report states. "He either willfully chose to ignore these grave problems, or was so oblivious and incompetent that he was not even aware of them. Either alternative justified his departure."

The problems ranged from charging for fingerprint services to maintaining a "personal slush fund" to partially smoked marijuana cigarettes, one with lipstick on it, found in *****'s desk drawer by State Police investigators. ***** testified that the joints were either turned in to the police department or found in an ashtray. He said he kept them so he could demonstrate-by lighting up in his office-what marijuana smelled like to parents.

According to testimony of current and former officers, ***** exercised "total control" over all drug investigations, drug evidence and destruction of drugs that were seized. But his methods, according to the jury, often violated police procedures. For example: He told officers to place confiscated drugs on his desk or inside his door if he wasn't there. He occasionally destroyed drugs in a "bum barrel" at his home. And there was no evidence that destruction orders for drugs were ever sought from the courts. State law requires that a court order be obtained prior to the destruction of any drugs. Both ***** and ***** testified, however, that they did not know there was such a law. It has been in effect since 1973.

But ***** testified that drug evidence no longer needed for court was "some flushed, some burned, some sent to the wind." The jury said ***** involvement with the seized drugs was "very suspicious." "The manner in which he operated with regard to other people made many enemies for him and also made it easy for others to suspect him of drug use and other criminal activity," the report read. At the same time, the jury said they were giving **** the benefit of the doubt "in light of his strenuous denials of wrongdoing".

The jury also found irregularities in the way firearms were handled. Shortly after the investigation began, about 40 guns appeared on a table in the evidence room, and no one knew where they came from. ***** later testified the guns had been stored in his locker at the police department. When the state police did an inventory, they found 90 weapons that didn't have any documentation, some of which had been in the room for more than 20 years. Two of the weapons had been reported stolen but never returned to their owners, and at least four were taken from individuals who were not charged with crimes. One weapon, turned in by ***** when he resigned, was determined to be stolen about 10 years ago. According to the report, the weapon will be returned to its owner by the state police. Both ***** and ***** admitted that the handling of evidence at the police department was "a joke," the jury said.

Finally, the jury found mishandling of public funds-including money from the annual Haunted House and a fund used to help needy families. One year, a bike-a-thon sponsored by a local radio station and the Marine Corps donated extra bikes to the Needy Family Fund. There were a number of bikes left over, but they were given to police department employees and their friends rather than being kept for the next holiday season, the report said.

*****, the special prosecutor assigned to the case, said Monday he was not pursuing criminal charges. Although there were irregularities in the handling of drugs, weapons and public funds, none rose to the criminal level, he said. Still, the jury said that in some instances, illegal conduct did occur. But, they wrote, the statute of limitations had passed or the statute violated did not provide for a penalty.

Supporters of ***** said during a town meeting Tuesday that the allegations against the former chief came from a few former disgruntled employees. And *****'s lawyer said in a statement Friday that the special grand jury was biased and refused to hear from witnesses on behalf of ***** and *****.

But the report cited the testimony of 53 people that included former and current officers from the ***** Police Department as well as from residents and officers from other departments. According to the jury, ***** 's "severe lack of judgment in the conduct of police activities and his acute lack of management skills have created a climate of suspicion of criminal, unethicalor illegal behavior on his part. The suspicion is held by the majority of the police officers currently employed by the PD and citizens and police officers outside the department." The jury concluded its report by suggesting that a new chief be hired from outside the ***** Police Department, that the town council establish a more active role of oversight, possibly by designating a committee to supervise it.

*****, a 30-year-old resident who said he is a friend of ***** 's, said he is disappointed with what he read and had a hard time understanding it. Like many of the 15 or so residents who showed up to look at the report, ***** looked dejected after finishing. "I have mixed emotions," he said. "I didn't understand how these things could happen." But like town officials, ***** said he thinks ***** would bounce back from the scandal that has pitted neighbor against neighbor. "It's a small town and it will recover," he said. "It's got a lot of good people."