Courtesy of a link provided by Daddybear, we learn that a Pennsylvania police force has egg on its face.
A Pennsylvania police official said his department may have accidentally burned the $8,000 missing from its evidence room.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said the money, which was seized in 2009 from a home where a domestic dispute was reported and officers found the cash along with crack cocaine and marijuana, had been kept in a lock box accessible to only a few people within the department, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday.
However, Chitwood said a court ruled the search illegal and ordered the money returned, leading officers to discover the cash was not in the box.
. . .
Chitwood said an evidence technician told investigators he recalled being called away for an emergency while counting the money and the envelope of cash may not have ended up in the right lock box. Chitwood said the envelope may have been burned, as the department frequently incinerates unnecessary evidence.
There’s more at the link. Bold print is my emphasis.
“The envelope may have been burned”, eh? Riiiight . . . If you believe that, Superintendent Chitwood, I have this bridge in Brooklyn, NYC, that I’d like to sell you. Cash only, please, and in small bills.
I wonder whether any enterprising reporter has bothered to investigate any functions (dinners, nights out, etc.) held by the Upper Darby PD in the period between when the money was confiscated, and when it was discovered to be ‘missing, believed burned’? Or, if not functions, has a reporter investigated any cop(s) who took expensive holidays, or bought expensive toys, during the same period?
What’s that rodent-like smell in your department, Superintendent?
Peter
I've got to laugh. Chitwood's got quite a history. He used to be chief up in Portland, Maine.
"Media Mike" as we used to call him, was an egotistical twit.
The two things I remember most clearly were:
1) His attempt to completely ban residents in public housing from owning firearms. First Amendment, anybody? Needless to say, it didn't fly.
2) His "do you know who I am?" moment when, parked illegally at the Portland Jetport, he went ballistic on the airport security officer who asked him to move his car. Much profanity was to be had.
The guy wasn't even in his department. As to the car, if I recall correctly, he'd parked it in a place prohibited by TSA, as well as local rules. It was great watching his televised apology.
Yep, going from Portland to Upper Darby, PA was a big step up. Good riddance.
I am familiar with the Upper Darby police department. It's thorough mix of jack booted thug and corruption. I can speak from experience.
I've heard stories of Upper Darby PD on several sites. Not any positive stories, mind you, just stories.