DRUG TEAM DISBANDED AFTER PROBE OF EVIDENCE HANDLING

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) -- Mishandled evidence in more than 1,300 cases has led
to the disbanding of VALIENT, the Valley Interagency Narcotics Team.

Auditors found that 345 firearms, $10,423 in cash, and drugs in various
quantities were unaccounted for and that many records had been destroyed.

The Oregon Department of Justice submitted the cases to a Linn County grand
jury, which did not return indictments.

Albany Police Chief Joe Simon, chairman of VALIANT's governing board, said
the investigation showed nothing criminal occurred.

The investigation began 18 months ago after James Welch of the Linn County
Sheriff's Office became VALIANT supervisor and tried in vain to find a gun
that was to be released to its owner.

He found other irregularities in evidence handling, and the board hired
retired McMinnville police chief Rod Brown to conduct an initial audit.

The board then hired Gary David, former Sweet Home police chief, to do a
more detailed investigation.

The investigation showed that VALIANT officers routinely destroyed evidence
improperly and were not aware of evidence laws. This usually happened after
a case was closed but meant evidence was unavailable for appeals.

In some cases involving more than one defendant, evidence was disposed
after only one person had been tried, meaning charges were dropped for lack
of evidence against co-defendants.

According to a report by Stephen Briggs of the Justice Department's
Organized Crime Section, most problems had to do with destroying evidence
but not documenting that destruction.

Scott Bressler, a Benton County sheriff's deputy and former supervisor of
the team, told investigators that his procedure was to wait six months
after seizing drugs and then destroy them if no charges had been filed.

In January 2003 VALIANT personnel, following instructions from the board to
clean out their office, burned all closed case files more than five years
old. The destroyed files were not backed up electronically.

In many cases, officers disposed of personal property once the case was
over without notifying the owner.

It often was impossible to trace cash seized in drug investigations.

Usually it went to the Benton County Finance Department for handling. But
the finance department had purged all its records that were more than three
years old. The records that exist contain occasional discrepancies.

When VALIANT was formed 13 years ago, there were eight police agencies
involved, with one person in charge of day-to-day operations.

Two agencies pulled out because of budget shortfalls. Member agencies
struggled to keep any one person as supervisor for any significant time.
There were nine of them over 11 years.

Because VALIENT operated separately from the member agencies, it lacked the
clerical and administrative staff other agencies have.

When a new officer came on board, an old one trained him. "Certain
practices got institutionalized," Simon said.

Member agencies now will determine whether officers will face internal
discipline. Of the 1,349 cases said to be mishandled, 219 were recommended
for internal affairs.

Since the investigation, the VALIANT board has paid 14 people a total of
$9,180 for lost property, and 28 people a total of $14,652 for money that
had been seized.

Simon said area police chiefs and sheriffs are seeking a new way to fight drugs.