Crime lab made another error

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/police-crime-lab-faces-second-complaint-over-drug-2178748.html

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Another complaint has been filed against the Austin Police Department's crime lab, this time by an independent lab in North Texas that claims it received different results than the Austin lab when testing the same drug evidence.

Crime lab officials in Austin said they received the complaint filed by Integrated Forensic Laboratories in Euless, between Dallas and Fort Worth, late last week."

"It is the second complaint the Austin lab has faced this year. In January, a former crime lab scientist who was fired last year alleged that lab administrators do not have proper accreditation and that drug evidence was not analyzed before reports were submitted."

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The first complaint filed this year came from Debra Stephens, a former crime lab scientist fired in April. She was fired for violating several lab policies and police procedures, Assistant Police Chief Sean Mannix has said.

Her complaint dealt with testing in drug-related cases, and she said in a letter to the Travis County district attorney that "results are being reported and charges are being filed without any analysis being conducted at all." She said hundreds of cases since 2005 were "analyzed without regard to laboratory protocols.""

This emphasizes the importance of getting your blood or breath independently tested in every single case. If the tests are not corroborated, it is imperative you hire an expert witness.