Lots of criminals have won previous Doofus awards. However, today’s prize goes to the other side of the crime equation, namely, the police force in Hertfordshire, England.
Police officers wolfed down pizzas at a crime scene without realising they had been ordered by the very suspects they had been hunting, a court heard.
They bought the two deep pan pizzas at a reduced price from a delivery boy after the gang who ordered them refused to answer the door.
. . .
Opening the case, Ms Meaking-McLeod said: ‘Because the pizza delivery man could not deliver the pizzas, the police who were at the scene did not realise the significant potential of this evidence so they offered to buy the pizzas at a reduced rate for themselves and ate them, putting the boxes in the back of a police car.
‘It was only subsequently that the pizza boxes were found in the back of a police car and a phone number was found on one of them and it came to light that the officers had eaten the evidence.’
The court heard the attackers … fled before the delivery boy and police arrived.
There’s more at the link.
I’ve heard of evidence being mislaid by police, or mishandled . . . but eaten??? That’s got to be a new item on the curriculum of the next constabulary training course!
Peter