Fayette Police Department revises disposal rules after evidence found in trash bin
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Fayette Police Department said Thursday that it is revising its evidence disposal procedures after residents raised concerns about finding evidence in a trash bin.
Residents found evidence in a dumpster behind the C&R Market grocery store last week, prompting a discussion at a Board of Aldermen meeting.
Elected city officials and police leadership have refused to speak with reporters about the incident, deferring to the city attorney.
Chief David Ford said Thursday that an investigation showed the disposal followed department protocol. However, that protocol is insufficient and has been changed, he said. The new policy specifies that certain types of evidence should be put in a landfill and that marijuana be incinerated.
Those actions will need to be witnessed by two Fayette Police Department officers, and logged to be kept on file.
It also states that the Howard County Prosecutor's Office will have to review evidence before it's destroyed, depending on the outcome of a specific case. Evidence not requiring the prosecutor's review that can be reviewed solely by the chief of police include misdemeanors with a guilty plea and felonies that have not been filed.
The policy also states that items without an obvious link to a crime should be kept for 90 days since collection and any items that could be evidence in a suicide case should be kept for five years. All evidence in homicide cases, class 'A' felonies and all DNA evidence should be kept indefinitely.
The old protocol required drugs to be removed from evidence bags, put in the dumpster and sprayed with liquid.
"Chief Ford wishes to apologize to the community for the handling of this situation," the release says.
The release says the city has asked the Missouri State Highway Patrol to review the incident. The city will implement any recommendations, the release says. ABC 17 News reached out to the Highway Patrol, who said they had not received the request as of Thursday night.
Ford said that unspecified "personnel issues" are still under review but that he will not comment further.
