FBI JOINS CRACK PROBE

Head of city FOP tells officers not to submit to lie-detector tests

The FBI has launched an investigation into the apparent theft last week of
15 large pieces of suspected crack cocaine from a locked safe in the East
Liberty police station.

Pittsburgh police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr. said he asked the FBI to
begin an independent investigation so there would be no questions about the
thoroughness of the Police Bureau's internal probe.

"We want to be able to show that we're doing a very thorough investigation
. . . and they can verify that," McNeilly said.

Yesterday, McNeilly said the internal investigation had been somewhat
stymied because officers who had agreed to take lie detector tests have now
refused to do so under the advice of the Fraternal Order of Police.

The suspected crack cocaine was seized during a Jan. 31 traffic stop in
Bloomfield, and charges against the man in that case were dropped this week.

Should it be determined that a crime was committed, and a suspect
identified, the FBI would file any applicable federal charges, such as
those regarding police corruption.

City detectives are trying to determine whether anyone committed the state
crimes of theft and tampering with evidence by taking the suspected drugs
from the safe during a three-hour period on the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift
Feb. 1.

On an administrative level, Pittsburgh police investigators are also trying
to determine how many officers failed to follow bureau procedures once they
learned the evidence was missing.

Under current bureau procedures, which will soon be changed in the wake of
the incident, drug evidence seized when the Allegheny County Crime
Laboratory is kept in a locked safe or locker at the zone stations.

The evidence is assigned a number on a log, and each shift must check to
see that what is listed on the log is still in the safe until it is taken
to the lab.

Log records indicate the 15 pieces of suspected crack cocaine were seized
on a Saturday.

Because the lab was closed, the drugs were placed in a locker, and they
remained there through the daylight and afternoon shifts the next day.

They were discovered missing at the start of the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift.

At that time, an officer noted on the log that the drugs were missing;
however, supervisors weren't told the evidence was gone until three days
later -- Feb. 4.

McNeilly said disciplinary action would be taken against four police
officers who didn't follow notification procedures at the East Liberty
station.

The action involves placing written reprimands in the officers' files.

Marshall "Smokey" Hynes, the president of the Pittsburgh FOP, said
yesterday that the four officers were not expected to appeal the
discipline. "They can see where they may have made a mistake," Hynes said.

As for the lie detector tests, Hynes said yesterday that the union had
advised its members not to take the tests because they were unreliable.

"They're not usable in court. They rely too much on the interpretation of
the operator," Hynes said.

McNeilly, however, said the polygraph and voice stress analyzer tests were
used only as investigative tools for either eliminating or including
someone as a suspect.

"I thought it was interesting that Smokey said it could affect their
careers or possibly bring criminal charges because it would only do (that)
if there was evidence to prove it," McNeilly said.

Hynes conceded that before retiring as a homicide detective, he had used
polygraph tests in his investigations, but added, "People had the option of
taking it or not taking it.

"I have 12 or 15 people being interviewed out there," he continued. "I have
to protect the rights of all of them. I'm not impeding the investigation.
My obligation is to protect the rights of police officers.

"We're not here to coddle criminals. If, in fact, this evidence was stolen
rather than lost, there are a lot of innocent officers out there whose
rights I have to protect.

"There's an old adage in the law that it's better for 100 guilty people to
go free than for one innocent man to be convicted."

Hynes said he was troubled over the missing drugs and, like McNeilly, he
said officers routinely handled thousands of pieces of drugs and other
evidence each year without a problem.

"It's going to be a black eye (for the bureau) if it's found that the
evidence was taken by a police officer, and if it's never solved, it's
still going to be a black eye," Hynes said.

"I can't undo that. I have to live with that. I would have preferred the
evidence never came up missing."

McNeilly had the same thoughts.

"Of course, we are concerned with our image. One police officer can cast a
shadow over the entire department," he said. "We have 1,100 officers and
the vast majority are honest, hard-working, dedicated and professional.

"Now, all people are hearing about and seeing is that one officer did
something wrong."

McNeilly said it was too early to tell whether the investigations would
result in criminal charges.

"It's hard to tell right now. We're hoping to be able to develop enough
information to solve exactly who took it. At least so far we've been able
to show that several officers did not follow procedures. We'll have to take
action to ensure this doesn't happen again."

At a meeting Wednesday, the chief and his commanders developed a
three-pronged approach to deal with evidence at stations, McNeilly said.

First, commanders will reinforce in discussions with their lieutenants and
sergeants that they will be accountable for evidence stored on their
shifts.

The bureau also plans to install two color-coded mailboxes, one to hold
confiscated drugs, the other jewelry and cash.

There will be only two keys for each mailbox -- one for the commander and
one for whoever is designated to be responsible for removing the drugs for
transport to the crime lab and the other evidence to the property room at
the North Side station.

Confiscated weapons would still be stored in locked safes or evidence lockers.

Eventually, the Police Bureau hopes to have a centralized location for
dropping off evidence.