MISSING COCAINE: CHIEF CALLS IN GBI TO INVESTIGATE

Missing Cocaine: Chief Calls In Gbi To Investigate Police Department
Discovers Drugs Gone From Unit's Safe

LAWRENCEVILLE -- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is probing the
circumstances surrounding the disappearance of some cocaine stored in
a safe in the Gwinnett County Police Department's Narcotics Unit,
Gwinnett County Police Chief Charles Walters said Friday.

The undetermined quantity of cocaine was discovered to be missing
March 19 during an audit of a safe that stores drugs used in the
investigation of drug sales. To ensure a thorough, impartial
investigation, Walters said he made the decision to call the GBI.

"This was not a decision which I made lightly," he said during a news
conference Friday evening. "However, the Gwinnett County Police
Department has always prided itself on its transparency and ethical
execution of our duties. The results of this investigation will allow
us to continue that proud tradition."

Since it was discovered that the cocaine was missing, other things
have been found that have hindered the ability to know how much
cocaine should have been in the safe, Walters said. He said he could
not comment further.

"I don't want to go in and discuss it," he said. "This is the GBI's
investigation."

Walters said he has instructed every member of the police department
to cooperate with the GBI's investigation. Furthermore, he said, the
department's Professional Standards Unit will conduct a parallel
investigation to determine if any policy violations were committed.

"Somehow the system has failed, whether it has failed because the
policies weren't in place to take care of it or people didn't follow
the policies or a criminal act was committed," Walters said. "Never,
in the 31 years I've been in this police department, have we had to
call in the GBI, and that was a humbling, humiliating
experience."

Having an outside agency investigate the incident shows the police
department is committed to transparency, Walters said.

"This police department has always enjoyed a tremendous amount of
trust from the public. You get that trust by being transparent," he
said. "It would have been very simple to keep this quiet, but that's
not the way we do business. if you lose that trust with the public,
the effectiveness of this agency will be gone.

"I think it's important that the criminal investigation be hands-off
by this police department just to eliminate any chance of lack of
impartiality."

Gwinnett County Administrator Glenn Stephens issued a statement Friday
evening in support of Walters' decision to call the GBI.

"Our confidence in the integrity and professionalism of the police
department remains undiminished," he said.