SBI investigating CMPD Crime Lab analyst over suspected ‘irregularities’

CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — An analyst with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Crime Labrotary is being investigated, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Over the last few days, CMPD said it found information suggesting some procedural irregularities in biological analyses performed by an analyst at the Crime Laboratory.

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The DA’s office has asked the NC State Bureau of Investigation to determine whether these suspected practice failures suggest any violation of the criminal law.

CMPD has already begun its own internal investigation.

Authorities said they will look into pending and previous cases that may be impacted by the outcome of this investigation.

“These remedies are necessary because it remains the vision of this office to prioritize justice through integrity so that every person can place trust in our work,” the District Attorney’s Office in Mecklenburg County said in a released statement on Wednesday.

CMPD released the following statement to Queen City News.

Our commitment to accuracy identified a procedural error in a recent testing procedure conducted by a civilian analyst in our Crime Lab. During a senior analyst’s secondary review, an issue was discovered involving a deviation from the standard control sample protocols. We want to be clear: there was no manipulation of any evidence. The error only involved the control sample that was used to verify the test results.

CMPD reported this concern to the District Attorney’s Office who launched an investigation. The lab is conducting a comprehensive review to ensure all procedures have been consistently followed. This analyst was immediately placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation.

This is a developing story; check back for updates

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