OFFICER FEARED FLAP OVER MISSING DRUGS

Dyer Officer Resigned Over Evidence Suspected Of Being Stolen By Trusties

Not once, but twice has evidence gone missing in recent months from the
Dyer Police Department, a resigning officer said Wednesday.

John Grogan spoke out about why he turned in his letter of resignation
Monday after seven years at the DPD. The Board of Aldermen will consider
that resignation at a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday.

Police Chief Scott Deaver confirmed an ongoing investigation Tuesday into
the disappearance in late March of some marijuana, methamphetamine and an
unidentified white powder that was being kept in Grogan's unlocked desk
drawer. Police suspect inmate trusties working around the department took
the drugs.

The missing drugs were tied to three cases. There was a plea in one case,
one was continued to June and the last was dismissed because of the missing
evidence, Grogan said.

But Deaver has failed to mention an initial theft of drugs in early
February at the former DPD office on Maple Street, Grogan said.

The cases tied to these drugs had already been disposed of in court, he
added. Inmate trusties also were suspected in that theft, Grogan said.

''The fact is felony offenses occurred at the police department,'' Grogan
said. ''No reports were made, and we had no way of justifying where the
drugs went. In order to clear myself of any involvement, I notified the
Gibson County District Attorney's office of the offenses and terminated my
employment with the city of Dyer.''

There were never any internal reports on either theft and no documentation
of an investigation on either incident, according to Grogan.

''Being the drug officer for the city of Dyer, I'm responsible partly for
the evidence that I seize, and I don't want to get in trouble,'' Grogan
said. ''I'm not going to be liable for evidence missing that I had nothing
to do with.''

He spoke with the D.A.'s office in April. Deaver confronted him about that
visit last Tuesday, Grogan said.

The two had an argument that boiled down to a difference in opinion on
department policy, he added.

Deaver said he wondered why Grogan had gone to the D.A.'s office when he'd
already contacted the office in March about the drugs.

''I went because it was known that the police department was broken into,
but it wasn't known how many times,'' Grogan said.

Deaver confirmed the missing evidence from the February incident but said
it amounted to a couple of pills that may have been a muscle relaxant. They
had been taken during a traffic stop from someone who didn't have a
prescription for them.

The pills were stolen from an evidence envelope that was in an open safe,
Deaver said. The safe was open because its contents were being moved to the
new office, he added.

Deaver was not certain but believes there was documentation in the form of
a short summary on the February incident. There was definitely a complaint
on the March incident, Deaver said.

Grogan was not around during the first incident, Deaver said. He was away
from the department on military leave with the National Guard and didn't
return until the move was 99 percent complete.

''John's a good officer, and he does a good job,'' Deaver said. ''I'm not
sure why this thing all came about. I'm not sure why he resigned. He wasn't
under investigation. It was just a mishap.''

District Attorney General Garry Brown said Wednesday he was aware of only
one incident of drugs missing.

''All I can say is that the investigation is ongoing and that it was
reported to the sheriff's department as soon as it was discovered that the
drugs were missing,'' Brown said. ''If we can prove that drugs were stolen
and if we can prove who stole them, then criminal charges will be filed.''

The police department dealt only with the Gibson County Sheriff's
Department on the first incident because the evidence involved closed
cases, Deaver said.

The only reason Grogan was keeping drugs in his desk is that the evidence
room at the new building had no lock. It had been without a lock for a
month and a half, Grogan said.

The room did contain drug evidence from previous arrests, he added. Still,
he believed the drugs he and another officer had confiscated from recent
arrests would be safer in his desk drawer.

''I thought, if someone had the ability to walk directly in our evidence
locker, why would they look in my drawer?'' Grogan said.

The DPD moved completely from the old building to the new one in February,
Grogan said. Inmates helped throughout the move.

Inmates would be picked up in the morning and taken to the old and new
buildings to do unsupervised work, Grogan said. The officer on duty would
check on them occasionally throughout the day until they were taken back to
the jail in the evening, he added.

Deaver disputed that, saying that there was so much to be done during the
move that the entire department was there.

Deaver has said that near the time of the March theft, there were instances
when inmates were working and the officer on duty had to be away a few
minute on calls.

Trusties are supposed to be supervised at all times, Sheriff Joe Shepard
said Wednesday.

In the February incident, police weren't even aware that drugs were missing
until a sheriff's department investigator called and said inmates were
saying a trusty had stolen drugs.

It was then that the evidence locker was checked, Grogan said. They found
drugs were missing from an evidence envelope that had been cut open, he
added. He said that he was told some meth was missing.

Deaver confirmed only that pills were taken, from one envelope that had a
bottom corner removed.

Grogan also mentioned an attempted break-in of a weapons safe during the
March drug theft incident. A locksmith had to be called to repair it, he said.

Deaver confirmed that, adding that it appeared someone had tried to pry the
safe open with a screwdriver. No weapons were taken, he said.