Tuesday, May 16, 1995
METRO Page B1 EVIDENCE ROOM FLOOD COULD TAINT CASES By MICHAEL
PERLSTEIN Staff writer
It was designed to be among the most secure areas
of New Orleans police headquarters, but the central
evidence and property room was infiltrated by an
intruder last week that could prove damaging for
months to come: floodwater.
Since the rain subsided, police have been assessing
the harm to its evidence stockpile and the possibility
that some court cases may be washed out. The property
room is in the basement of the NOPD's Central City
headquarters at 415 S. Broad St.
"We did receive some floodwaters in the basement of
the building, " police spokesman Lt. Sam Fradella
said. "Some of it reached our property and evidence
area. We have not determined the extent of damage to
the items."
Fradella, citing security concerns, would not disclose
what evidence ended up under water. The room houses
everything from guns and ammunition to confiscated
drugs. Crime scene photographs and documents such as
forged checks also were stored there.
One ranking officer said the department's top brass
has expressed concern.
"Two days after the flood, they were still pumping
water out of there, " said the officer, who requested
anonymity. "I know it's a problem because a lot of
that evidence sits at ground level."
Defense attorneys said the extent of harm to
individual cases depends on the evidence involved.
"Any evidence they had down there that's subject to
deterioration or alteration could become important to
a case, " said Numa Bertel, director of the Orleans
Indigent Defender's Program.
Bertel said water damage to weapons such as guns and
knives probably wouldn't be enough to affect a trial.
But other evidence such as cocaine or photographs
could become tainted enough to change the outcome of a
case.
Veteran defense lawyer Jeffrey Smith said, "If drugs
like cocaine were left untestable, it could be
significant."
Once the storm did its damage, officers were ordered
to bypass the property room and process crime scene
evidence at district stations. A couple of officers
said they were forced to keep evidence in their
lockers or patrol cars.
This change from the normal procedure also could be
raised as an issue at a criminal court trial. In some
trials, defense attorneys try to discredit a case by
attacking weak links in the "chain of custody" of
evidence.
"It could be an issue, but with a major disaster like
this, I'm sure the prosecutors would explain the
circumstances to the jury, " Smith said. "Nobody would
expect officers to use scuba gear to deliver evidence
to the property room."
Fradella said the emergency procedures used to handle
evidence last week are 100 percent secure.
"This is not unlike what we did several years ago when
evidence was processed through the districts, " he
said.
Fradella said the property and evidence room has
reopened and is now back to normal operations.
