A Cleveland police officer turned in his gun and badge after being dismissed for mishandling and lying about marijuana found in a pocket of a man killed in a car wreck.
Former officer Roger Smith, who is also a decorated U.S. Army veteran, admitted he lied to supervisors about misplacing the marijuana, according to Officer Evie West, spokeswoman for the Cleveland Police Department.
The marijuana was found on 24-year-old Dustin Ledford, the victim of the fatal collision on APD-40 last weekend.
"There is no room for mistakes with evidence because that's what our job revolves around," said Officer West. "The major problem here is that he lied. If he had told the truth about misplacing it, maybe the chief would have decided to do something different."
Mr. Smith was fired on Friday and has until Tuesday to appeal his dismissal to the city manager, Officer West said.
Mr. Smith was the officer on the scene of the July 10 collision in which Tiffany Isaza, 29, hit and killed Mr. Ledford while she was driving the wrong way between the Overhead Bridge Road and Benton Pike exits.
Mr. Smith went to check on Mr. Ledford at Erlanger hospital, where Officer West said an EMS worker gave Mr. Smith the bag of marijuana. Standard protocol required him to turn in the evidence at the end of his shift, which he did not do, Officer West said.
The next day, when the lead county investigator covering the collision asked Cleveland Police Lt. Shelia Freeman for the evidence, Lt. Freeman said none had been turned in.
When Mr. Smith's superiors asked him for the evidence, he initially claimed he had thrown it out of his car window. He then changed his story, saying that he threw it in a trash can at the police station.
The stories prompted Mr. Smith's supervisors to place him on paid leave while they began an investigation. At the end of his shift that day, Mr. Smith presented the evidence and retracted his previous statements, saying instead that he'd misplaced the evidence in his car, Officer West said.
After Mr. Smith admitted to lying to police, his supervisors decided to dismiss him.
Officer West said there is no evidence that Mr. Smith was planning to personally use the marijuana.
Mr. Smith had been with the Cleveland Police Department since 2008 after retiring as a sergeant first-class from the U.S. Army. He had served three tours in Iraq and earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service, which he gave to Kaylee Marie Radzyminski, the teenage founder of Tunes4Troops in 2008, according to newspaper archives.
Officer West said it is crucial to handle evidence properly.
"A lot of evidence has to be collected whether you're dealing with a stolen bicycle, a fatality, or a homicide. It's very important to collect evidence and to drop it with the evidence technician so it can be processed. When you don't do that you risk losing it, misplacing it, having it stolen, or being accused of using for your personal use," said Officer West.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press
Author: Kate Harrison
Copyright: 2010 Chattanooga Publishing Company
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Former officer Roger Smith, who is also a decorated U.S. Army veteran, admitted he lied to supervisors about misplacing the marijuana, according to Officer Evie West, spokeswoman for the Cleveland Police Department.
The marijuana was found on 24-year-old Dustin Ledford, the victim of the fatal collision on APD-40 last weekend.
"There is no room for mistakes with evidence because that's what our job revolves around," said Officer West. "The major problem here is that he lied. If he had told the truth about misplacing it, maybe the chief would have decided to do something different."
Mr. Smith was fired on Friday and has until Tuesday to appeal his dismissal to the city manager, Officer West said.
Mr. Smith was the officer on the scene of the July 10 collision in which Tiffany Isaza, 29, hit and killed Mr. Ledford while she was driving the wrong way between the Overhead Bridge Road and Benton Pike exits.
Mr. Smith went to check on Mr. Ledford at Erlanger hospital, where Officer West said an EMS worker gave Mr. Smith the bag of marijuana. Standard protocol required him to turn in the evidence at the end of his shift, which he did not do, Officer West said.
The next day, when the lead county investigator covering the collision asked Cleveland Police Lt. Shelia Freeman for the evidence, Lt. Freeman said none had been turned in.
When Mr. Smith's superiors asked him for the evidence, he initially claimed he had thrown it out of his car window. He then changed his story, saying that he threw it in a trash can at the police station.
The stories prompted Mr. Smith's supervisors to place him on paid leave while they began an investigation. At the end of his shift that day, Mr. Smith presented the evidence and retracted his previous statements, saying instead that he'd misplaced the evidence in his car, Officer West said.
After Mr. Smith admitted to lying to police, his supervisors decided to dismiss him.
Officer West said there is no evidence that Mr. Smith was planning to personally use the marijuana.
Mr. Smith had been with the Cleveland Police Department since 2008 after retiring as a sergeant first-class from the U.S. Army. He had served three tours in Iraq and earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service, which he gave to Kaylee Marie Radzyminski, the teenage founder of Tunes4Troops in 2008, according to newspaper archives.
Officer West said it is crucial to handle evidence properly.
"A lot of evidence has to be collected whether you're dealing with a stolen bicycle, a fatality, or a homicide. It's very important to collect evidence and to drop it with the evidence technician so it can be processed. When you don't do that you risk losing it, misplacing it, having it stolen, or being accused of using for your personal use," said Officer West.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press
Author: Kate Harrison
Copyright: 2010 Chattanooga Publishing Company
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
