Water leak at Glendale police headquarters affects over 1,000 cases
A water leak at Glendale Police Department's headquarters this summer dampened evidence in more than 1,000 cases, prompting police to notify prosecutors and start a detailed log of how that evidence was protected.
The leak took place on July 12, according to department spokesperson Randy Stewart in an email.
The multitude of cases affected ranged from homicides to sex crimes, among others, according to Stewart. He said knew that there were items affected by water damage in at least two homicide investigations.
Stewart said that items of evidence were packaged in boxes, plastic bags, and paper bags. Some items saw no problems, but a few that were packaged in paper bags needed to be dried out and repackaged, he said.
Typically, items that are wet or contain DNA-sensitive material such as blood are packaged in paper bags to give them time to dry and to prevent any mold forming. But Stewart said that in most of their affected cases, DNA evidence had already been extracted and already tested through the crime lab.
"The evidence is still there for all the cases, but some items had water damage affecting the original form of the evidence," Stewart explained.
It remains unclear the extent to which evidence was damaged, destroyed or tainted, if at all, and whether that affects how useful that evidence might be in court.
Glendale Police Assistant Chief Colby Brandt first brought up the issue to an August bond committee meeting.
"One leak that occurred overnight when the staff had gone home, one single leak. Last count, we have determined potentially affected nearly 1,000 cases. To what degree, some of that remains to be seen." Brandt said that multiple pipes in the building ran over the agency's property and evidence room and their forensics lab.
Stewart told The Arizona Republic that the agency believes the number announced at the August meeting has gone up.
Brandt used the incident as an example as to why voters should pass Glendale's ballot Question 2 in November. The bond would invest $78 million into public safety projects, including a new forensics lab and evidence storage facility. The current lab is nearly 40 years old.
Since the incident happened, Stewart said that the Maricopa County Attorney's Office was made aware of the situation and has been in contact with Glendale Police. He said that a detailed log of all personnel that were part of the leak cleanup and evidence preservation was kept, and documentation was made to ensure that each case was accounted for and processed correctly.
In response to whether Glendale Police have concerns about this incident, Stewart said that with any case, the department wants to make sure they do things right by preserving evidence, not contaminating it. That's because if they don't, they might lose credibility from who entrust them to do that task.
"We want the public and our partners in the judicial system to have faith and confidence that we are handling all cases appropriately," said Stewart.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Water leak at Glendale Police Department affects over 1,000 cases
