The City of Fayette and the Fayette Police Department announced Thursday morning sweeping changes to its policy regarding the destruction of evidence. The changes come in the wake of a scandal within the department after old case evidence, including drugs and syringes, was found in the city’s dumpster on Saturday, Dec. 9.
A press release from the city on Thursday morning detailed the new policy and said the recent disposal aligned with existing protocols.
“A review of this procedure indicates that it was insufficient, even when followed correctly,” the release read. “Therefore, the Department is issuing a new policy which better addresses these issues.”
The new policy states that evidence will only be destroyed after a review from the county prosecuting attorney regarding misdemeanors and felonies that have gone to trial, with minimum time periods after case dispositions. Felony, misdemeanor, and ordinance violation cases that were either not filed by the prosecutor or that ended in guilty pleas may be destroyed on the authority of the City Marshal. These also have minimum schedules for destruction.
In addition, the policy states that evidence in all homicide cases, crimes of a sexual nature, or Class A felonies likely to yield fingerprints, hair/fiber, or DNA evidence useful in the identification of involved parties shall be retained indefinitely.
The matter has so far been investigated in-house by the city, which contends that personnel issues connected to the incident remain under review. But Fayette Mayor Jeremy Dawson has now requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigate the situation.
Thursday’s release also included a mea culpa on behalf of City Marshal David Ford.
“Chief Ford wishes to apologize to the community for the handling of this situation. The Department always strives to be professional and meet the highest standards, despite limited staff and resources. In this case, the Department fell short of that goal, and that must be addressed. The Chief is committed to constantly improving the Department’s policies so that there will be no repeat of this type of incident.”
The matter reached terminal velocity on Dec. 12 during the city council’s regular meeting.
The cases allegedly dated back to the early 2000s, and the disposed evidence included pills, marijuana, bags with white powder residue, and allegedly unused syringes. They were discarded into the city’s dumpster at the city sheds near C&R Market.
Stephanie Gilpin, a Community Health Worker-Certified (CHW-C) with the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, told this newspaper that a client found the discarded evidence bags on Saturday. The client texted Gilpin, who then took photos and contacted dispatch.
“I was met with aggravation and was told that it was being taken care of, and I could wait by the dumpster until they cleaned it up if I would like,” she said.
“If this was a careless mistake, hopefully, it is addressed, and processes will be set to not be overlooked again. Or if this has been policy, I think it is time for change,” Gilpin said during the council meeting.
Mayor Jeremy Dawson told Gilpin, along with those in attendance, that the situation wasn’t taken care of appropriately. “We are investigating it as a city and how to handle it. It was not followed the way that it needed to be. But from now on, it’s going to be a city personnel policy decision to get that taken care of. And at the same time, we’re going to be reviewing the disposal of evidence policy and how we take care of that.”
The city said the new policy goes into effect immediately, although further public comment will be considered for further changes. The new policy shows an effective date of Jan. 1, 2024. See the new policy on our website: fayettenewspapers.com.